The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo, in a statement, said that the Saarc Charter requires that decisions at all levels are taken on the basis of unanimity, and this applies to the convening of meetings of Heads of State or Government of SAARC Member States as well. Sri Lanka on Friday expressed its unwillingness to attend the upcoming Saarc Summit in Islamabad, saying the prevailing environment in the region is not conducive for holding the summit. The ministry regretted that the prevailing environment was not conducive to hold the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad on November 9 and 10 2016. It also said that all the General provisions of the SAARC charter need every decision at every level to be taken on the basis of unanimity. The Srilankan MOFA said that this applied to all the convening Heads of states and the governments of all the SAARC member states as well. "Peace and security are essential elements for the success of meaningful regional cooperation for the benefit of the people of South Asia. As a founding member of Saarc, committed to regional cooperation, Sri Lanka hopes that the steps required to ensuring our region's peace and security will be taken to create an environment that is conducive for the pursuit of regional cooperation," it said.