The Thirteenth SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005 recognized “the crucial role of culture in bringing the peoples of South Asia closer”. At the Meeting of the Senior Officials Preparatory to the Second Meeting of the SAARC Ministries of Culture held in Colombo on 30th October 2006 the SAARC Agenda for Culture was presented by Sri Lanka as the Agenda Item No. 11. The SAARC Agenda for Culture was accepted by the Heads of State in the “Declaration of the Fourteenth SAARC Summit” held in New Delhi, India from 3rd to 4th April 2007 and launched the SAARC Agenda for Culture as item 19 of the Declaration.