Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said leaders from the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation also signed a declaration agreeing to meet a Jan. 1 deadline for a free trade deal in the region, home to a fifth of the world's population.

Leaders from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives met informally at a state guest house in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, on Nov. 13.

SAARC officials will meet next month to iron out their differences to pave the way for the creation of a South Asia Free Trade Area in January, the group said in a statement released after the summit.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 19, 2005
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