Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka on Wednesday for Addu city of the Maldives to attend the 17th summit of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The two-day summit of the 8-nation regional body, home to about 1.4 billion people, will be held in Addu city, the southernmost atoll of the Maldives, on Nov.10 and 11. Hasina is expected to return home on Nov. 12. SAARC, established in 1985, includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Heads of states or governments of the members of SAARC would be attending the summit. Representatives from nine observer states including China and the U.S.A. will also be participating in the summit.