VZCZCXYZ0135
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHLM #0316 0871233
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271233Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7926
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0813
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7805
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 1357
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5989
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 4332
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1936
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 4331
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 3427
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 8413
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
UNCLAS COLOMBO 000316
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA AND SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV OVIP CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SAARC SUMMIT IN COLOMBO JULY 27 -
AUGUST 3, 2008
1. (SBU) The Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Protocol
Chief confirmed to DCM the following dates for the 15th SAARC
Summit, to be held in Colombo July 27 to August 3:
July 27-28: 32nd session, SAARC Programming Committee (DG
level)
July 29-30: 35th session, SAARC Standing Committee (Foreign
Secretaries)
SIPDIS
July 31-August 1: 30th session, Council of Ministers (Foreign
Ministers)
August 2-3: Summit (heads of state/government)
2. (U) The venue for Summit meetings will be the
Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).
According to the MFA, Colombo city hotels have been
identified to accommodate around 1200 delegates and media
personnel. The GSL determined that Kandy (the originally
planned summit venue) did not possess adequate infrastructure
to host the summit itself. Kandy is being retained as the
venue for some ancillary events such as the SAARC Cultural
Festival, SAARC Youth Forum, SAARC Folklore Congress, and
activities in the field of trade and investment.
BLAKE