The session was chaired by the Sri-Lankan President and SAARC president Mahinda Rajapaksa and Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley delivered the welcome speech in the session. [break]
This is the first time that the SAARC Summit was held in the “Country of Dragon” on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of SAARC establishment.
Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh, Bhutanese Prime Minister Thinley, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, government heads under the SAARC, are taking part in the summit.
Similarly, Afghani President Hamid Karzai, Sri-Lankan President Rajapaksa and Maldivian President Mohammed Nashid are taking part as the heads of the states in the summit.
Representatives from the United States of America, European Union, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Myanmar and Mauritius are also present in the session as observers.
Arrangements have been made to keep SAARC representatives in a special building named as per the names of their respective countries in the SAARC village. SAARC representatives were welcomed by the Bhutanese children in course of their entry to the Summit venue. All representatives from eight countries are scheduled to address in the session from 7 to 10 minutes.
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