India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mooted the idea of a satellite serving the needs of SAARC member nations including Sri Lanka.

At the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in November 2014, the leaders of SAARC member states, including Sri Lanka, have welcomed, in principle, the initial offer by India to develop and launch the SAARC satellite.

The satellite will be planned, processed and launched by India as a donation to the SAARC countries and it would be located in Eastern Longitude 48 to develop the relationship and to render required services to SAARC countries.

The satellite mooted by India to provide communication and meteorological services to SAARC member-countries is likely to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in December 2016.

India expects to enter into bilateral agreements with each country on Orbit Frequency Coordination of the proposed satellite.

The cabinet of ministers approved a proposal made by Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera to sign the bilateral agreement during Prime Minister's visit to India next week.