Along with India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan, Sri Lanka has now decided to boycott the SAARC Summit in Islamabad. In an official communication sent to SAARC chair Nepal, Sri Lankan ministry of Foreign Affairs said that owing to the prevailing environment in the region, Islamabad is not conducive for holding the SAARC Summit.
Condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, Sri Lanka stressed the need to deal with the issue in a decisive manner and stating peace and security are essential for the success of such regional cooperation summits.
This 19th Summit was supposed to be held on 9th and 10th of November, but after Sri Lanka’s exit, five out of the eight countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation will not be attending the peace summit. A SAARC Summit can only take place when all the eight leaders are present–as the voting decisions need to be made unanimously.
India was the first to leave the summit as a move to diplomatically isolate Pakistan after the Uri attack.
