Kathmandu, August 28:

Senior officials of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) today finalised the agenda to be discussed and endorsed by the fifth meeting of SAARC information ministers beginning here tomorrow. “We have unanimously finalised various agenda, which the ministers will discuss and amend or endorse,” said Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communication, Lok Man Singh Karki, who had chaired today’s meeting.

The information ministers will discuss establishing the Regulatory Framework to manage the work of private channel and public broadcasting organisations within SAARC countries. They will also discuss the airing of weekly SAARC news on the government radio service, and broadcasting a monthly television news-programme called FOCUS in the SAARC countries.

They will discuss on introducing new tools and technology for disseminating SAARC activities with in the seven countries of the grouping and outside.

The meeting will also discuss on organising a SAARC film festival; the report given by Expert Group Meeting for establishing SAARC Media Development Fund and the status of implementation of the Information and Media 2004 Action Plan. All the information ministers - Lyonpo Leki Dorji of Bhutan, Jaipal Reddy of India, Md Nasheed of Maldives, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad of Pakistan — have arrived to attend the meeting. Deputy Minister for Information and Media of Srilanka, Cegu Isadeen and the secretary of the Ministry of Information of Bangladesh, who are leading their respective teams have also arrived.