DHAKA, May 14: Bangladesh said on Saturday India favours holding the twice-postponed summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) in Dhaka in November. Bangladesh has been canvassing the seven member states of Saarc to find suitable dates for leaders to attend the meeting in the Bangladeshi capital.

It had proposed the Saarc summit take place either in early September or November 12-13. “Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh called me by telephone Friday night and conveyed India’s readiness to attend the Saarc summit on November 12-13,” Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan told AFP on Saturday.

Khan said India’s proposal for Saarc to meet in November had been conveyed to Pakistan which holds the rotating chairmanship of Saarc that groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is expected to make an official announcement on the dates soon after consulting with other Saarc members.

India pulled out of the summit in February citing concerns about the security situation in the region. Indian foreign ministry officials said the decision was influenced by the killing of a former Bangladeshi finance minister at an opposition political rally as well as by Nepal King Gyanendra’s seizure of power February 1.

India’s withdrawal led to the summit being postponed and angered Bangladesh which called New Delhi’s reasons unacceptable. The summit had originally been slated to take place between January 9 and 11 but was cancelled after the December 26 tsunami disaster that battered Asian shores. It was then rescheduled for February 6-7. —AFP