SAARC agrees on electricity grid at the last minute

The SAARC leaders have signed a pact for a common regional grid to share electricity at the last minute to salvage their floundering summit in Kathmandu.

The SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation was signed by the foreign ministers on Thursday, making way for electricity trading through grid connectivity.

The leaders of the eight member states looked on as the minister inked the deal, our Senior Correspondent Sumon Mahbub, travelling with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said from the Nepalese capital.

The agreement is expected to lead to greater cooperation in the power sector, besides improving power availability in the region.

After the signing ceremony, Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said the foreign ministers would sit again within next three months to discuss the SAARC agreements on motor vehicles and railway service.

The summit at the opening session had hoped to sign two more pacts on motor vehicle and railways but could not.

Pakistan was blocking the deals citing the lack of internal processes being in place, according to analysts.

But on Thursday, it agreed on the pact after a retreat of South Asian leaders at Dhulikhel, 20 kilometres off Kathmandu, they said.

Sources at SAARC Secretariat confirmed that the deal, which had hit snags earlier, went through after an unscheduled meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the retreat.

The agreement came much to the delight of Bangladesh as Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali remained optimistic even on Wednesday, says Senior Correspondent Nurul Islam Hasib, covering the 18th summit in Kathmandu.

As the summit adjourned without any deal to show for, he had told bdnews24.com that a breakthrough might come later as the leaders would surely discuss the issues during their retreat before the closing session.

Meanwhile, the next SAARC Summit will be held in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad in 2016, chair of the 18th Summit Koirala announced it at the concluding session. "

He thanked Pakistan for offering to host the next summit.

Later, Nawaz Sharif thanked the leaders for choosing Islamabad.