Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan said this at Zia International Airport yesterday after returning from a two-day trip to New Delhi with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's official letter of invitation to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend the 13th South Asian Association for Regional Coope-ration (Saarc) Summit in Dhaka next January.

Morshed had also proposed a Saarc Standardisation Institute to institutionalise uniform standards for product certification in Saarc countries.

"A draft for the standardisation institute would be prepared in consultation with other Saarc countries and submitted before the Saarc council of ministers for approval," said Morshed.

During his two-day visit, the foreign minister met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and Commerce and Industries Minister Kamal Nath.

Morshed said the Indian prime minister reiterated his support for Saarc, saying India would cooperate in every possible way for the success of the Saarc Summit.

Asked if the border skirmishes between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Bangladesh Rifles were discussed during his meeting with Natwar Singh, Morshed replied that they had discussed the matter and the Indian side sought 'consular access' to 18 Indian nationals who were recently arrested with illegal weapons while trespassing onto Bangladesh territory.

Morshed also sought the support of the left-front leaders in Delhi in opposing India's river linking project.