ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: The 24th session of the programming committee of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) concluded here on Tuesday with the adoption of a 15-page report ahead of the 12th summit next month.

The report will be submitted to the standing committee, comprising foreign secretaries of the seven member states, when it formally meets here on Wednesday for its 29th session presided over by Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar.

Sources said the recommendations formulated by the programming committee, under the chairmanship of Director-General (South Asia) Jalil Abbas Jilani, included specific proposals for facilitating people-to-people contact and asserting the South Asian identity.

The programming body report also contains recommendations for action on the reports of Saarc regional centres, the Saarc audio visual exchange committee and the seven technical committees covering agriculture and rural development, communications and transport, social development, environment, meteorology and forestry, science and technology, human resources development and energy.

On Tuesday evening, the standing committee met here for an informal session at which Saarc secretary-general Qamar Ahmed Rahim was also present. The session continued for about two hours.

This committee is responsible for the overall monitoring and coordination of programmes and approval of projects and programmes as well as modalities of financing. It also determines inter-sectoral priorities and identifies new areas of cooperation.

The standing committee submits its reports to the council of ministers, comprising foreign ministers of the member states.