The closing session was held at the BMICH this afternoon. Before the arrival of the leaders at the premises, Foreign Ministers and other representatives gathered for a meeting. Minister Rohitha Bogollagama welcomed President Rajapakse who has assumed Chairmanship of the eight member grouping. He was followed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Special Advisor of Bangladesh Fakhruddin Ahmed, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Prime Minister of the Caretaker Government of Nepal Girija Prasad Koirala
Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigmi Thinley and Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani Thereafter the concluding sessions got off the grounds in the afternoon. After warmly greeting the leaders, President Rajapakse, the SAARC Chairman announced that it was pertinent to ink agreements that have been reached. Foreign Ministers representing Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka and Minister in Charge of Financial Activities of Nepal signed the agreements. Current SAARC Chairman President Rajapakse then declared that the 16th SAARC Summit will be held in the Maldives. After a brief review on matters which are most vital to achieve peace and prosperity in the region, President Rajapakse declared that the 15th SAARC Summit has concluded. The President then invited his Maldivian counterpart Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to make a special address. As SAARC Chairman, the President expressed his gratitude to the leaders for attending the Conference.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Sunday decided to hold the 16th SAARC summit in the Maldives.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced at the conclusion of the 15th SAARC summit that the Maldives would host the 16th Summit.
The Maldives was originally selected as the venue for the 15th SAARC summit. However, its officials said they would not be able to host the summit and Sri Lanka volunteered to take over.
Initially the Sri Lankan authorities chose Kandy an ancient hillside town as the site for the summit. Due to lack of infrastructure and security concerns, Sri Lanka decided to move it to Colombo.
The eight heads of state or government from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan meet annually to discuss problems facing the region in a bid to promote economic and political cooperation.
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