Second meeting of SAARC Culture Ministers tomorrow

COLOMBO: The Second Meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Culture is scheduled to be held in Colombo on October 31.

A Senior Officials' Meeting would precede the Ministerial Meeting today. Ministers of Culture and senior officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan would attend this meeting, states a press release issued by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage.

Cultural cooperation was one of the core areas identified for promotion among the member countries since the inception of SAARC. It has been recognised and enshrined in the SAARC Charter, which is a clear manifestation of the commitment of the Association towards this end.

The successive SAARC proceedings have acknowledged the importance of the rich, complex and varied cultural and religious traditions in the region and emphasized the need to preserve and promote these great civilisation and cultural heritage.

The Second SAARC Cultural Ministers' Meeting is being held in pursuance to the mandate given at the 13th SAARC Summit in 2005 where the Heads of State/ Government recognised the crucial role of culture in bringing the peoples of South Asia closer and directed the SAARC Ministers of Culture to meet early to elaborate a SAARC Agenda for Culture.

Sri Lanka is playing a lead role in the promotion of Culture in the region. It is significant that Sri Lanka had also hosted the First SAARC Cultural Ministers' Meeting in Colombo in 2003 and the SAARC Cultural Centre is to be set up in Sri Lanka.

The two-day meeting will focus on formulating a SAARC Agenda for Culture, for establishment of the SAARC Cultural centre in Sri Lanka, SAARC Museum of textiles and Handicrafts in India as well as the promotion of contemporary arts and culture and promotion of Cultural tourism, pilgrimages etc, among SAARC countries.

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hosting this meeting in Colombo.