"The meeting is discussing possible cooperation to tackle the problem of bird flu," spokesman Harsh Bhal said.

The foreign ministry said relevant officials from the seven members of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) were attending the one-day emergency meeting in New Delhi.

Details of the meeting and the conclusions would be announced at a press conference later Monday, Bhal said.

SAARC groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

New Delhi says heightened vigilance at its borders has so far prevented the H5N1 virus, which has emerged in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, from erupting within Indian territory.

Weaker strains of the flu have been reported in Pakistan, Taiwan and the United States.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said at the weekend that cooperation with regional nations hit by the deadly virus had "significantly improved" but that the response to the crisis in some poorer countries had been slow.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticised Asian nations for putting economic concerns before public health by attempting to cover up outbreaks in a bid to protect their agricultural sectors and tourism industries.

TERRA.WIRE