By IANS,
Colombo : US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake will lead the American delegation to the 17th SAARC summit in the Maldives Nov 10-11.
A former ambassador to Sri Lanka, Blake will be accompanied by US ambassadors to Nepal Scott H. DeLisi, who is also accredited to the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Also in the Blake team will be Patricia Butenis, the US ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
While in the Maldives, Blake will hold bilateral meetings with a broad cross-section of government officials from South Asia and fellow observer nations.
The US has enjoyed observer nation status since 2007 in SAARC, which groups Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.