NEW DELHI, Nov 8: India on Tuesday said it would support Afghanistan’s entry to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) at a summit of the seven-nation regional group in Dhaka on the weekend.

“We will welcome Afghanistan as a member of Saarc,” India’s junior foreign minister E Ahmed, who will represent India at the Saarc ministerial meeting, was quoted as telling the PTI.

Afghanistan’s entry into Saarc is one of the issues on the summit agenda. All Saarc members must agree before Afghanistan can be admitted.

The prospect of Afghanistan joining Saarc was flagged during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Afghanistan in August.

Mr Singh will join other Saarc leaders for the summit on November 12-13.

Mr Ahmed said on Monday smaller Saarc countries should shed their apprehensions about a larger India and consider it an economic opportunity with plenty of chances to invest.

An Indian foreign ministry statement said three trade agreements were expected to be signed at the summit.

The Dhaka summit was expected to declare the decade 2006 to 2015 as the Saarc Decade of Poverty Alleviation, the statement said.

Leaders will also discuss developing a regional body to assist countries after natural disasters — in the aftermath of the Dec 26 tsunami and the Oct 8 earthquake, the statement said.

Saarc, which groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was founded in 1985 with the aim of fostering closer economic and social ties.

The last Saarc summit was held in 2004.—AFP