Pakistan's support for the proposal of establishing the main campus of SAF would be conditional till all issues pertaining to free movement of students, teachers, visiting professors and faculty members are resolved.
Sabka sath, sabka vikas, said Maldives President abdulla Yameen.
The broader conflict in West Asia, the largest international market for Indian carriers, has forced a sharp reduction in daily flights relative to the summer schedule.
'So far our production is not affected. But every day the situation prolongs, it does bring risks in terms of shipments getting delayed.'
Postponed several times due to a variety of reasons, the much-delayed but the biggest South Asian Games ever begin, in Guwahati, on Friday, with hosts India expected to stamp their superiority in the regional spectacle.
The proposed South Asia Free Trade Agreement, which will come into effect according to the timetable set out at the SAARC summit in Islamabad, will greatly benefit the region, diplomats from the member countries said in Washington.
He emphasised the need for fully opening up the state to the fast economic activities shaping up in the region so that the people of the state could also reap the benefits of economic liberalisation, it said.
According to sources, India would be invited to the new proposed forum, while countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Afghanistan are expected to be part of the grouping.
BNP chairman Tarique Rahman called for maintaining law and order and sought cooperation in building a safe and humane Bangladesh after his party's victory in parliamentary elections.
Although Afghanistan will be formally inducted as the eighth member of SAARC on Tuesday, Afghan Foreign Minister Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta also attended the meet.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's steps to improve ties with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries, top American officials, eminent South Asia experts and lawmakers have said that he has shown firm commitment towards strengthening India's relations with its neighbours, including Pakistan.
Pakistan is holding a high-level security meeting to formulate a response to India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and downgrading of diplomatic ties. The meeting, convened by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, will include the National Security Committee, three services chiefs, and key ministers. The move comes after India blamed Pakistan for a terror attack in Pahalgam, which Pakistan has denied. Diplomatic observers warn that the escalation could further strain relations between the two countries.
With the Saarc countries looking resolved to create a South Asian Free Trade Area by 2006, Indian tea industry, hit hard by depressed global prices, has never been closer to bagging the big Pakistani market.
Fiat India on Tuesday said that it is planning to export its cars in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries to boost its export volumes.
The satellite will enable a full range of services to neighbours including the areas of telecommunication, television, direct-to-home, VSATs, tele-education and tele-medicine.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
The leaders also adopted the Islamabad Declaration for the SAARC summit.
Greater physical, economic and people-to-people connectivity among SAARC nations can foster growth and development in the region, he added.
United India Insurance Company plans to enter the West Asia and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries to tap the potential in these regions due to a presence of a large India diaspora.
He said India wanted growth, development and peace in the region and was keen to utilise technology to pursue this goal for the shared prosperity.
The external affairs ministry was authorised on Thursday by the Union Cabinet to negotiate and finalise the text of the Convention for cooperation on criminal matters, so that it can be signed during the SAARC Summit in August, to be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries vowed to collectively combat the scourge of terrorism, extremism and insurgency plaguing the region with Pakistan and Bangladesh rejecting claims of those who justified violence in the name of Islam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries will meet in Kathmandu on Wednesday with an aim to revitalise the regional grouping and make it a major platform to fuel economic growth through liberalised trade and combat challenges of terrorism and climate change effectively.
India has lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over a now-deleted social media post by a key aide of Bangladesh's interim government that claimed certain areas of Indian territory should be part of that country. The post, which included a map showing parts of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam as belonging to Bangladesh, was made by Mahfuz Alam, a de facto minister in the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. The post sparked backlash and was subsequently deleted. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reminded all concerned to be "mindful" of their public comments and emphasized the need for responsibility in public articulation.
India should encourage the second coming of SAARC with climate change as an urgent agenda and keeping Indian security concerns in mind as the subtext, suggest Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
In his first bilateral meeting with international leaders after assuming charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held talks with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
The external affairs minister said the SAARC is in trouble as one of its members has been supporting terrorism.
India would take up with SAARC nations the refugees issue so that neighbouring countries could take them with the assurance that they will be treated in proper manner.
Faced with high energy costs hitting economies of the region, leaders of Association of South East Asian Nations and their dialogue partners on Monday agreed to strengthen regional cooperation on energy security
Several Pakistani nationals visiting India started returning home through the Attari-Wagah land route in Amritsar on Thursday, a day after the Centre set a 48-hour deadline for them to leave the country. The decision came after India announced a raft of measures, including the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, and the immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the horrific terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians on Tuesday.
There is a lot that the SAARC can do if only its two biggest countries, India and Pakistan, leave their disputes back home. Sheela Bhatt gauges the mood at the opening day of the regional summit in Thimphu, Bhutan.
In addition to participating in the swearing-in ceremony, the leaders will attend a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, it said.
India and other Saarc countries have decided to work towards creation of a South Asian Economic Union and establishment of a regional food bank.
In a face saver, SAARC countries signed a framework agreement on cooperation in power sector but failed to finalise the much-awaited motor vehicle and railway pacts
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