Myanmar seeks SAARC membership

DHAKA: Myanmar has formally requested membership of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Its bid has the support of India, the current chair, a newspaper said quoting unnamed diplomatic sources.

Yangon had officially written to the SAARC Secretariat in March, seeking to become a full member, the New Age (Bangladesh) reported yesterday. The matter may come up before the 15th SAARC Summit to be held from July 27-August 3 in Colombo.

If admitted, Myanmar would be the ninth member of a body that was initially conceived in the mid-1980s as a grouping of seven - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Afghanistan became its eighth member last year.

Myanmar is already a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). IANS