Not an appropriate time for SAARC summit in Pakistan: Maldives

Pakistan's bid to host the 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit has failed yet again as it failed to achieve consensus for it in the south Asian region.

Maldives at the SAARC informal foreign ministers meet on Thursday clearly told Pakistan that amidst the COVID-19 crisis, it is not "appropriate time to discuss the summit."

Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid speaking at the virtual meet said, "The Maldives remains steadfast in its commitment towards regional cooperation. Taking a cue from our Leaders Meeting in March 2020, the Maldives calls for the creation of a conducive environment to reach consensus on the convening of the 19th SAARC summit."

He further explained it saying, "At this point in time, we are preoccupied with dealing with COVID-19 pandemic and do not think it's the appropriate time to discuss the time of the summit."

Plans to hold the 19th SAARC summit in Islamabad was on the agenda of the SAARC FMs virtual meet. The summit was to happen in 2016 in Islamabad but India along with most SAARC countries boycotted it due to the Uri Terror attack perpetrated by Pak-based terrorist.

Pakistan has been trying to host the summit for the last 4 years but has not been successful in its attempt. Last year also, on the sidelines of the SAARC FMs meet, Islamabad claimed it has been able to achieve the consensus but no movement happened.