Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing today attends the 14th Summit of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in New Delhi.

His attendance marks the first time a Chinese diplomat has attended the summit since China became an observer to SAARC in 2005.

"The fundamental objective of China's policy towards South Asia is stability, development and good neighbourly relations," Li said at a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri in Islamabad, before he headed to New Delhi.

Li said he hoped all South Asian nations would enjoy political stability, economic prosperity and harmonious relations with each other.

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China has long hoped of expanding cooperation with South Asian countries, but the lack of a multilateral platform has been an obstacle to closer ties, said Lan Jianxue of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"SAARC is a high-level platform where China can sit with its South Asian neighbors, providing an opportunity to discuss how the countries can grow together," Lan said.

With Asia's economic growth grabbing headlines around the globe, closer cooperation, especially between economic powerhouses such as India and China, is the surest way to maintain the momentum, he said.

The two-day summit will focus on the fight against terrorism, travel, telecommunications and energy in the region, which is home to nearly 1.4 billion people.

Iran hoping to join

The SAARC was established in 1985 as a vehicle for political and economic cooperation. Today, its members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, while China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and the European Union are observers.

Iran recently formally requested observer status.

The Iranian request for observer status will be discussed during the meeting by foreign ministers of the eight SAARC member countries.

Given the close ties between Iran and South Asia, it seems unlikely that Teheran will faces problems in getting a seat in the SAARC's meeting room in the future. Both India and Pakistan, the two biggest countries in the SAARC, have already said Teheran deserves the green light.

Iran believes that participation in the SAARC will help break the cocoon of isolation the United States and some Western countries have imposed on it, said Lan.

However, the strength of Iran's voice in the group will depend largely on India's attitude and, indirectly, on the United States, as Washington and New Delhi are enjoying something of a honeymoon, he added.

"Some smaller member countries are also concerned that Iran's participation will cause more problems for the already complex organization by adding Iran's ongoing dispute with Western countries to the SAARC's agenda," Lan said.

But Iran has its own appeal. India, Iran and Pakistan are already engaged in serious negotiations over building pipelines to bring Iranian gas to India through Pakistan.

Some analysts say that as the relationship between Pakistan and India has been improving, the three-way project is likely to go on the negotiation table on the sidelines of the summit if Iran becomes an observer.

Against a background of Indian-Pakistani conflict in Kashmir, instability in Afghanistan, and attacks by Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, observers expect security concerns to be the first topic raised at the summit.

"However, it would be much more constructive of the countries to warm up by working towards cooperating on less contentious issues, such as trade, before tackling sensitive security issues," said Lan, noting that the SAARC is deliberately designed to avoid discussion of bilateral and internal security problems.