ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: The 12th Saarc summit conference opens here on Sunday (today) amid immense optimism that momentous decisions will be taken by the South Asian leaders to enhance cooperation, ultimately leading to greater regional integration.

After a lapse of two years, the three-day summit of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) will bring Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh, Prime Lyonopo Jigmi Ythinly of Bhutan, Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of India, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives, Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa of Nepal and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali of Pakistan.

Unparalleled security measures have been taken for the summit conference, virtually turning the capital city into a no-go area, if not a police state.

On the eve of the summit, the Saarc delegates expressed optimism about it being a milestone in the 18-year history of the regional association. They said it could be a turning point in their cooperative future.

The summit follows a major breakthrough in the South Asia Free Trade Area framework agreement and the Additional Protocol to the Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism. This has come as a major surprise to most member states, especially India, as till three months back there had been major differences on the language and text of their drafts.

The South Asian delegates concede that Pakistan played a proactive role in finalizing the framework agreement, the additional protocol and the social charter that are likely to be adopted by the summit.

The summit also assumes special significance because of the recent thaw in Pakistan-India relations following a series of peace overtures by both sides. The prospects of a one-to-one meeting between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee on the sidelines of the conference has generated tremendous interest in the summit. This bilateral dimension of the summit has in some ways captured more media attention than multilateral aspects.

This is the first time that Prime Minister Jamali will be meeting his Indian counterpart and also the first contact between the top Indian and Pakistani leadership since the Kathmandu Summit in January 2002, that saw President Musharraf's famous handshake with Prime Minister Vajpayee.

The dominant themes of the 12th summit are expected to be collaboration in social, economic and cultural spheres and giving the regional body a fresh impetus to make it more meaningful.

Pakistan's main focus during the summit will be on peace and security, regional integration, and making the calendar of summit meetings more predictable, officials here said.

The Saarc summit conferences, which are to take place annually, have not been held on schedule since 1998. The 12th summit was to be held in January 2003, but it had to be postponed by Pakistan due to non-confirmation of participation by Bhutan and India.

The 12th summit will be the focus of an unprecedented media attention. More than 600 regional and international media representatives have converged on the capital to cover what is widely predicted to be a historic event.

Saarc was established in 1985 with the objectives of promoting the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to uplift them through accelerated economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the member states.