DHAKA: The members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) formally approved that the 18th summit of SAARC will be held in November.

Foreign ministry sources said that Nepal made the proposal during the 35th meeting of the SAARC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting held in Maldives Thursday.

But any specific date or time could not be fixed yet. This is the third time that Nepal will be hosting the SAARC Summit.

The meeting formally approved Nepal`s nomination of Arjun Bahadur Thapa, former foreign secretary, as the 12th secretary-general of SAARC for a period of three years commencing from March 1, 2014. The incumbent Secretary-General from Maldives, Ahmed Saleem Ais, is retiring at end of this month after completion of his tenure.

Nepal foreign Secretary Shangker Bairagi confirmed the matter to news agency.

He said that Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka greeted the proposal.

The 17th summit was held in Maldives in 2011 and Nepal is holding the next after a three-year hiatus.

In 2002, Nepal hosted the summit three years behind schedule. SAARC summits normally take place every year.

BDST: 1003 HRS, FEB 21, 2014