India to accept any date for SAARC summit

India has said it was ready to accept any suitable date proposed by current Chairman Bangladesh for the twice-postponed SAARC Summit if it was acceptable to the other five member states.

This was conveyed by External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh to his Bangladeshi counterpart Morshed Khan when he met him here last night on the sidelines of the Asian-African Summit.

The issue of rescheduling the SAARC Summit was raised by Morshed, whose country is the current Chairman of the forum, External Affairs Ministry spokesman said here today.

The indications of India's willingness to attend the Summit assume significance as it comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with Nepal King Gyanendra here yesterday.

India had earlier refused to attend the Summit in February citing "disturbing developments in the region", a reference to royal takeover in Nepal on February one.

This had led to postponement of the Summit