However, the country is extremely proud that it will be hosting it this year, a year which coincides with the Silver Jubilee of the Regional Association. The SAARC, the most important regional alliance, was established when its Charter was adopted on December 8, 1985 and now have Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as member nations. Bhutanese newspapers report that 450 delegates from these countries and about 150 journalists are expected to attend and cover the summit and international observers from China, Japan, the European Union, Republic of Korea, USA, Australia, Mauritius and Iran will also attend.
Besides, the summit is expected to sign agreement on trade and services, rapid response to natural disaster and cooperation in environment and South Asian Development Fund.
It is also being speculated that Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, may take this opportunity to meet on the side to talk in detail about counter-terrorism in the two countries, even though the Hindustan Times has informed that the two leaders will not be meeting.
Ejaz Ghani, Economic Advisor in South Asia region at the World Bank, emphasizes in a blog-post that the key to political stability and poverty alleviation in South Asia is to deal with the terrorism and internal conflicts:
Regarding the Bhutanese Refugee issue Bhutanese dissident Adhikari says on his blog:
While all countries want to take this opportunity to iron out their regional differences there is optimism that regional politics will not overshadow common concerns like poverty alleviation, promoting economic cooperation and climate change.
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