Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the formal program of Eighteenth SAARC Summit slated for November 22-27. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the formal announcement saying the dates had been circulated by the Kathmandu-based SAARC Secretariat to the grouping's other seven member states.

"We decided to announce the dates of the summit," said the ministry's assistant spokesperson Bharat Raj Regmi.

According to the events calendar, the programming committee meeting at the joint secretary level kicked off today. The foreign secretaries' Standing Committee will meet Nov 23-24.

The SAARC council of ministers will get together Nov 25. The summit will be inaugurated Nov 26. The next day, the summit declaration will be announced followed by a retreat for the regional leaders.

Along with leaders from eight members countries, representatives from nine observer countries will also attend the summit.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation has eight members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Nepal has formed a high-level preparatory committee and several other panels to make the event a success, officials said. This is the third time Nepal will host the SAARC Summit after 1997 and 2002.