SAARC foreign ministers meet 'cancelled'

Sep 21, 2021

By Reena Bhardwaj
New York [US], September 21 : A proposed meeting of foreign ministers of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries was "cancelled" on Tuesday due to lack of "concurrence from all member states".
The SAARC is the regional intergovernmental organization of eight countries of South Asia--Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
"It was cancelled due to the lack of concurrence from all member states as of today," an official of SAARC secretariat told ANI.
Earlier it was reported that there is a possibility of Nepal hosting SAARC foreign affairs ministers meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
There was no official confirmation of the meeting.
The dilemma for the SAARC to meet this time was on who will represent Afghanistan, SAARC's youngest member.
The new regime in Kabul is still not recognised by the world and top cabinet ministers are blacklisted by the UN.
Amir Khan Muttaqi is the acting foreign minister of Taliban-led government in Afghanistan and he is unlikely to attend any UN and affiliated meetings.