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Indian teams in Dhaka to assess security

Haroon Habib

DHAKA: Security teams from India arrived here on Monday to assess the security arrangements for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of his visit to the Bangladeshi capital to attend the 13th SAARC summit in the second week of November.

The security aspects assume importance in the wake of the August 17 serial bombings across the country followed by blasts in three district towns in the first week of October, informed sources said. The Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor and SAARC chief coordinator, Reaz Rahman, said the country was speeding up pre-summit works after Pakistan reconfirmed its participation in the summit despite the October 8 earthquake. However, Pakistan has postponed the October 21-22 SAARC Commerce Ministers' meeting in the wake of the earthquake.

Replying to a question, Mr. Rahman said security was a big factor that called for reorganising some aspects such as the retreat for spouses of SAARC leaders. Six sub-committees had been formed to ensure maximum security during the summit. Around 300 members of the official SAARC delegations are expected to arrive in Dhaka for the summit. Besides, around 300 foreign media personnel are likely to cover the event.

Mr. Rahman said four agreements promoting trade and investment among the SAARC countries were expected to be signed during the summit. "The timing of this summit is very important ... This is the beginning of the third decade of SAARC," he said.

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