SAARC's administrative, budget conference in Kathmandu in February

NEW DELHI: Officials from SAARC countries will meet in Kathmandu on February 1-2 for an "administrative and budget" conference of the regional grouping.

India will be represented by Joint Secretary (BIMSTEC & SAARC) Prashant Agrawal at the meeting and the confabulations are technical in nature, officials said.

With the conference happening in the backdrop of collapsed SAARC Summit, officials asserted that India will make it very clear that it was up to Pakistan to create a conducive atmosphere to hold the Summit.

"Though the meeting is technical in nature but if required, Indian side would reiterate its position that the Summit can only take place in terror-free atmosphere and it was incumbent on Pakistan to create such a situation," an official said.

While Pakistan has been blocking regional connectivity proposals like SAARC Motor Vehicles and Railways Agreements, India is committed to SAARC process, the officials said.

India, along with several other SAARC countries, had pulled out of the 19th SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad last November, maintaining that the atmosphere was conducive for holding of the summit in view of continuous cross-border terrorism by Pakistan.

Though the Summit was cancelled, the official-level interaction in the eight-nation grouping was held from time to time on various issues.