DHAKA, 17 November 2004 — Bangladesh is making brisk preparations for hosting the 13th summit of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Dhaka from Jan. 9 to 11.
Officials of the Foreign Ministry told newsmen in Dhaka yesterday that ten ministerial-level sub-committees are working round the clock under the supervision of Foreign Ministry adviser and chief coordinator for the summit Reaz Rahman, to set the stage for the South Asian leaders to hold the summit meeting.
A wide range of works — starting from beautification of the capital to arrangement for the accommodation of the SAARC leaders, members of the official delegations, media and others — are under way.
Concerned ministries, including information, civil aviation, home affairs, post and telecommunications, cultural affairs and health, were already assigned specific responsibilities to host successfully the Dhaka summit, coinciding with the completion of two decades of the forum.
Tough measures are also being taken to ensure “foolproof security” at the airport, hotels, the conference hall and streets during the meeting of the heads of state and government of Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh.
Different intelligence agencies and security personnel are working to map out a detailed security plan for the summit.
Official sources said that the heads of government and state would be staying at hotel Sheraton where each floor would be booked for each SAARC member country.
They said over 200 members of the official delegations are expected to attend the conference. About 240 rooms of the hotel would be booked for accommodation of the guests.
Besides, 300 to 400 mediamen are expected in the capital to cover the 20th-anniversary summit of the SAARC, launched from Dhaka in 1985. Representatives of civil society, NGOs and donor community are also expected to participate in different events on the sidelines of the summit.
