South Asian officials Saturday recommended observer status for Iran at next week's regional summit which will be dominated by trade amid warming ties between rivals India and Pakistan.
China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United States already have observer status with the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) and will send representatives for the first time this year.
Foreign secretaries meeting ahead of the regional forum, which gets underway here Tuesday, unanimously recommended that Iran's request for such status be accepted, the Press Trust of India said.
The request will now be considered on Monday by South Asian foreign ministers, Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said. The meeting of foreign secretaries also reviewed the progress of panels formed under the grouping. "Economic connectivity ... for us is very important," India's Menon said earlier. Menon said the summit will focus on travel, telecommunications and energy links in the region, which is home to nearly 1.4 billion people.