By Xinhua,
Islamabad : Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be visiting Sri Lanka to participate in the 30th session of the council of ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to be held in Colombo from July 31 to Aug. 1.
The ministerial meeting will be followed by the 15th SAARC summit in which Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will lead Pakistan’s delegation.
The council of ministers is the second highest decision-making forum of SAARC, next to the SAARC summit. It is composed of foreign ministers of the SAARC members, and generally meets twice a year.
The ministers will review the progress on the implementation of the decisions taken by the 14th SAARC summit held in New Delhi in April 2007, and give further direction to SAARC on various issues of common interest.
Besides, the Pakistani foreign minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama as well as other participating SAARC foreign ministers, according to a foreign office statement.
Pakistan attaches great importance to SAARC and has been playing a proactive role to make the forum an effective vehicle for regional cooperation, it said.
“Our cooperation and partnership within the SAARC framework is based on sound foundations of shared values and common aspirations for economic growth and social development with the aim to improving the welfare and quality of life of the people of South Asia,” said the statement. “We have made substantial contribution towards all SAARC processes and taken a number of initiatives for the realization of its objectives.”
Qureshi will also accompany the Pakistani prime minister to the15th SAARC summit to be held in Colombo from Aug. 2 to 3.