The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) is thought to be pretty much a north-of-7-degrees-North affair — essentially taking in the subcontinent, with the geography bent just a shade four years ago to pull in Afghanistan as well.
Who would have thought Saarc would not only straddle the Hindu Kush to the north but also leave its mark below the equator?
That’s thanks to the Maldives, which is hosting the 17th Saarc summit (November 10-11).
The island nation has gone out of its way to stage the event in its southern territories, on an atoll that transcends the zero degree line and slips into the Southern Hemisphere.