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Sri Lanka attempts to put SAARC summit back on track

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November 14, 2000 

COLOMBO (AP) - Attempting to revive a summit of South Asian heads of state after a two year lapse, Sri Lanka hosted a meeting of senior officials from regional foreign ministries Monday.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit was to have been held in Nepal last November, but was postponed at the request of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He said he wanted to avoid a meeting with Pakistan's military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf, whom India blamed for an incursion across a cease-fire line in Kashmir that resulted in 11 weeks of fighting the previous summer. Also, Musharraf had overthrown Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's civilian government in a bloodless coup on Oct. 12, 1999. The two countries have fought three wars since 1947.

The three-day foreign ministry officials' meeting is expected to deliberate mainly on trade issues, but may also act as a precursor to a future summit.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar expressed optimism that another summit will be held, saying the standoff between India and Pakistan would "not last forever."

"The problem between India and Pakistan has been around for 50 years," Kadirgamar said. Yet, the dispute has halted only two summits since SAARC was founded in 1985.

The last summit was held in July 1998 under the chairmanship of Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

The seven SAARC heads of government meet annually to discuss regional cooperation. But the summits have also served as unofficial meeting grounds between feuding members.

SAARC comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.

"There is a vast reservoir of goodwill among all peoples of our region, which in time will propel the member states to get together, to bury their differences and move SAARC along," Kadirgamar said.