A R T I C L E XII SIGNATURE AND RATIFICATION The Convention shall be open for signature by the Member States of SAARC at the Eleventh SAARC Summit at Kathmandu and thereafter, at the SAARC Secretariat at Kathmandu. It shall be subject to ratification. The instruments of Ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary General. A R T I C L E XIII ENTRY INTO FORCE This Convention shall enter into force on the fifteenth day following the day of the deposit of the seventh Instrument of Ratification with the Secretary General. A R T I C L E XIV DEPOSITORY The Secretary-General shall be the depository of this Convention and shall notify the Member States of signatures to this Convention and all deposits of Instruments of Ratification. The Secretary-General shall transmit certified copies of such instruments to each Member-State. The Secretary-General shall also inform Member States of the date on which this Convention will have entered into force in accordance with Article XIII. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention. DONE at Kathmandu on this Fifth Day of January Two Thousand and Two, in nine originals, in the English Language, all texts being equally authentic. M. MORSHED KHAN Minister for Foreign Affairs People’s Republic of Bangladesh JIGMI Y. THINLEY Minister of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Bhutan JASWANT SINGH Minister of External Affairs Republic of India FATHULLA JAMEEL Minister of Foreign Affairs Republic of Maldives RAM SHARAN MAHAT Minister of Finance and Leader of the Delegation of Nepal Kingdom of Nepal ABDUL SATTAR Minister of Foreign Affairs Islamic Republic of Pakistan TYRONNE FERNANDO Minister of Foreign Affairs Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ______________________ 5 of 5