Mukherjee arrives in Colombo

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrives in Colombo tonight to participate in SAARC Council of Ministers meeting.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Colombo on Wednesday night to participate in SAARC Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday.

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Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister MK Hussain Bahila and Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad received Mukherjee at the airport.

The SAARC Council of Ministers' meeting will finalise the agenda for the August 2-3 summit.

Mukherjee arrived in Colombo from Tehran where he attended the 15th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

This year's SAARC summit is being held under the theme of 'Partnership for our people' and will also focus on launch of the SAARC Development Fund, establishing a South Asian Regional Standards Organisation, and increasing cooperation among SAARC nations with regard to criminal offences.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit is also likely to be discussed the expansion of the regional grouping.

The Sri Lankan government has stepped up security across the capital for the SAARC meeting.