DHAKA, Nov 10: Leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation will respond ‘positively’ to China’s wish to develop closer ties with the grouping, an Indian minister said on Thursday.

“On China, we are agreeable to responding positively to its desire to seek a cooperative relationship with Saarc,” India’s junior minister for foreign affairs E. Ahamed told reporters.

“An appropriate mechanism (for the cooperation) is under discussion,” he added.

Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran told reporters that all seven members had noted Beijing’s desire to be associated with the grouping during discussions on Thursday.

“How exactly this is to be worked out is what we are currently discussing,” he said.

“There is some precedent and we will look at those kinds of mechanisms and decide how we treat the request from China,” Mr Saran said.

Any decision to allow China to have links with the grouping would require the agreement of all seven members.

Options include China becoming a dialogue partner or an observer, sources said. —AFP