Addressing the Maldives' 61st Independence Day ceremony, President Mohamed Muizzu said the country is ready to aid the revival of SAARC meetings that have been halted for the last nine years. He called SAARC a pivotal regional platform.
The 19th SAARC Summit, scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in 2016, did not take place, and Summit-level engagement within SAARC has remained stalled due to the prevailing lack of consensus among member states and concerns relating to cross-border terrorism.
The last SAARC Summit (18th Summit) was held in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on November 26, 27 in 2014.
The Maldives has consistently advocated the peaceful resolution of disputes and is prepared to take a leading role in promoting dialogue, he said and stressed that reviving SAARC and restarting meetings among its member states are essential for maintaining peace and stability in the region.
"The Maldives calls on all parties with differing views to come together around the table, prioritise regional development and peace, and work in a spirit of cooperation."
"If there are difficulties in doing so, the Maldives stands ready to take the initiative and serve as a mediator to help advance those discussions," PSM News said, quoting Muizzu as saying.
The SAARC was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on December 8, 1985.
The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on January 17, 1987. SAARC region is home to nearly 1.9 billion people, representing approximately 24 per cent of the world's population, with a combined GDP of around USD 5 trillion, as per the MEA.
The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) comprises India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
With inputs from PTI