Foreign Minister Dr. Spanta Attends SAARC Council of Ministers
Foreign Minister Dr. Rangin D. Spanta and Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Mahmoud Saikal attended the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Council of Ministers in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 1-2. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan, who presided over the two-day meeting, had extended a special invitation to the Afghan delegation and told reporters before the meeting that “This will be the first time any Afghanistan Foreign Minister attends a SAARC ministerial meeting." Afghanistan was given full membership in the SAARC in its 13th Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005. SAARC, which now includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was set up in 1985 to accelerate economic growth in South Asia. "Afghanistan is an important part of the south Asian region. Afghanistan plays a key role in the transit of not only south Asia but linking south Asia to central Asia, linking the Far East to the Middle East," Deputy Foreign Minister Saikal said during the visit.
