Saarc foreign secretaries begin parleys

The senior foreign ministry officials from seven South Asian countries began their two-day conference here on Friday to prepare the agenda for a foreign ministers' meeting to be held next week, officials said.
Pakistan is hosting the meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) foreign ministers from July 20-21, aimed at boosting economic, commercial and social co-operation in the region.
Prior to the foreign ministers' conference the foreign secretaries will discus the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta) pact, promotion of investment, standards of quality control and co-operation in the areas of customs, transport and statistics.
The discussion will also focus on poverty alleviation, environment, communications and energy sectors.