India seeks to bolster ties, trade at SAARC

Kathmandu

SOUTH Asian leaders met in Kathmandu on Wednesday with regional superpower India seeking to boost trade and reinvigorate ties in the face of growing Chinese influence in its backyard, hampered by its bitter rivalry with Pakistan.

The leaders of the eight South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are meeting for the first time since the election of a new government in New Delhi that is taking a more assertive stance on both China and Pakistan.