Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will pay a four day official visit to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh from Monday as current chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), officials said Saturday. "The prime minister will utilize the visit to reaffirm Pakistan's commitment to regional cooperation," foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said in a statement issued in Islamabad. Founded in 1985 on an initiative by former Bangladesh president Zia-u-Rehman, SAARC comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Khan said Pakistan, which assumed chairmanship of the 7-member SAARC family in January this year, took a number of initiatives to revitalize the association and to strengthen cooperation within South Asia. "Pakistan has also been proactive in its efforts to enhance the global standing of the SAARC, encouraging closer collaboration between the association and other international organizations including the European Union, Gulf Cooperation Council, Association of South East Asian Nations and U.N. agencies," Khan said. He added Prime Minister Aziz would exchange views with SAARC leaders on Pakistan's vision for the association. His talks will also focus on bilateral relations with each of the member states and important regional and global developments. He said Aziz would visit India, Maldives and Sri Lanka after the Moslem festival of Eid-ul-Fitr which falls on November 15.
