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Chidambaram not to attend SAARC meet

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal will represent India at the first meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation Finance Ministers here on Monday.

Indian officials here said Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram would not be able to attend because of other engagements.

Modalities to be discussed

The two-day meet would discuss the modalities to set up a mechanism for spending and contributing to a proposed SAARC poverty alleviation fund and a development fund.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will open the meet, which was originally scheduled in April but postponed, as Mr. Chidamabaram was busy with the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

The SAARC poverty alleviation fund was proposed at the Dhaka summit last November. With a $300 million-target for poverty alleviation and social development projects, India agreed to contribute $100 million to the fund.

The meeting takes place in the shadow of Pakistan's refusal to extend the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement to India despite ratifying the treaty last February.

Media reports have said Commerce Minister Kamal Nath has asked for an "urgent" meeting of the SAARC commerce ministers to resolve the matter.

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