India will host the new SAARC Disaster Management Centre while an existing centre in Pakistan would be expanded to look after the environment under a compromise reached today at a key meeting of the grouping here.
The Council of SAARC Ministers has agreed that the new SAARC centre will be based in India while an existing centre in Pakistan would be expanded to look after the environment, after the two countries vied to host the new SAARC center altogether.
"This decision is subject to endorsement by the SAARC Heads of State/Government at the next SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November," diplomatic sources said.
The Council of SAARC Ministers has agreed that a new expanded SAARC Disaster Management Centre will be based in New Delhi, the sources said here during the 37th SAARC Council of Ministers in this Nepalese resort city, some 200 km west from Kathmandu.
The existing SAARC Energy Centre in Pakistan will additionally look after environment issues in future, the sources said.
Pakistan and India were vying to host the SAARC Environment and Disaster Management Centre, a new body to look into the environment and disaster-related issues in the region.
Swaraj in her address at the 37th SAARC Ministerial meeting said: "Looking ahead, I am confident of your support for aSAARCEnvironmentandDisasterManagement Centre in India."
She argued that such a centre can benefit from domain expertise of a large network of specialised Indian institutions experienced in quick response to various naturaldisasters.
Pakistan too was keen on hosting the SAARC Environment and Disaster Management.
However, it seems a compromise was made.
Both Swaraj and Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister, Sartaj Aziz,said that the SAARC meeting was held in a very "cooperative" environment.
