NEW DELHI, March 31: South Asian officials on Saturday recommended observer status for Iran at next week’s regional summit which will be dominated by trade amid warming ties between India and Pakistan.

China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United States already have observer status with the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) and will send representatives for the first time this year.

Foreign secretaries meeting ahead of the regional forum, which gets underway here on Tuesday, unanimously recommended that Iran’s request for such status be accepted.

The request will now be considered on Monday by South Asian foreign ministers, said Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.

The meeting of foreign secretaries also reviewed the progress of panels formed under the grouping. Economic connectivity ... for us is very important, said Mr Menon.

Mr Menon said the summit would focus on travel, telecommunications and energy links in the region, which was home to nearly 1.4 billion people.—AFP