ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will be visiting Saarc member states next month in his capacity as the current chairman of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, it is learnt.

"Currently we are in the process of finalizing dates for the prime minister's tour of six South Asian capitals," a foreign ministry official told Dawn on Tuesday. According to the official, the tour would be undertaken in two stages.

Bangladesh, which is to host the next Saarc summit, will be the first country that the prime minister will visit and India will be the last one. "On the first leg of his regional tour Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will visit Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, and on the second he will visit Sri Lanka, Maldives and India," a foreign ministry source said.

While the objective of the tour would be strengthening the Saarc process, the premier will also discuss bilateral relations with his South Asian counterparts. The focus of the tour would be Mr Aziz's maiden meeting with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. In the context of the current Indo-Pakistan peace process this meeting acquires special significance.

The prime minister's visit to India will take place by the end of November, officials said, adding that dates were being worked out through diplomatic channels and would be firmed up in a week or so.