A two-day meeting of senior officials from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member states started here Wednesday.

The officials from the eight SAARC member states gathered here to attend the SAARC Programming Committee Meeting convened by the incumbent chair of the SAARC, Nepal.

Joint Secretary of the Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mani Prasad Bhattarai told the media that the SAARC member states have held discussions on the budget of the SAARC Secretariat and five regional centers under the SAARC.

"The meeting will come up with some concrete decisions on Thursday with regard to the five SAARC regional centres and budget of the SAARC," he said.

The meeting is expected to create a conducive environment to hold the 19th SAARC Summit in Pakistan, senior officials joining the meeting told the media.

This is the first meeting of the SAARC member countries since the postponement of the 19th SAARC summit in Islamabad last November.

SAARC is a regional bloc established in 1985 in South Asia, comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Endit

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