DHAKA, 9 November 2005 — Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold bilateral meetings on Nov. 12 on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit here, with India set to raise the transit and transshipment issue for transporting and trafficking passengers and materials between northeastern region and rest of the country through Bangladesh.

This will be the second bilateral meeting between the two premiers after their meeting in Bangkok on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in 2004.

“I will go to Dhaka to participate in the SAARC summit and hope this summit will give a new fillip to economic and cultural integration of our northeast region,” Manmohan had said recently. Khaleda will also hold bilateral meetings with other SAARC leaders on Nov. 12 and 13. SAARC leaders will also hold bilateral meetings with one another during their stay in Dhaka.

Foreign Affairs Adviser Reaz Rahman told reporters that the 13th summit would concentrate on economic and social issues, including trade and investment and poverty alleviation in the member-states. Besides, management of natural disaster and dealing with terrorism would figure prominently.

Four agreements concerning avoidance of double taxation, promotion of investment, simplification of customs procedure and establishment of arbitration center would be struck.

Bangladesh will provide unprecedented security for the two-day summit that begins on Saturday. Set up in 1985, SAARC groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“Terrorism is now a global scourge, and bilateral, regional and global cooperation is necessary to combat it,” Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan said.

“It’s an issue to visit and revisit time and again.” Bangladesh, which has been hit by a wave of bombings by Islamist militants in recent months, has vowed “foolproof” security for the summit.

Authorities have deployed over 30,000 police and soldiers to patrol streets and guard key buildings in Dhaka, including the SAARC summit venue and a five-star hotel where the south Asia leaders will stay.

Khan said cooperation among regional countries was also necessary to rebuild lives after disasters such as the tsunami, floods and earthquakes that have devastated South Asia over the past year and a half.

— Additional input from Reuters