Prime Minister Oli visits SAARC Secretariat

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, February 7 Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the chair of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, paid a
visit to the SAARC Headquarters in Thamel this morning
He was accompanied by his spouse. Other members of his entourage included the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the SAARC Council of
Ministers Pradeep Gyawali, foreign secretary and the chair of the SAARC Standing Committee, press adviser and a joint secretary at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his address, Oli expressed happiness to visit the SAARC Headquarters for the first time as prime minister
and its chair
&Neighbourhood relation and regional cooperation are one of the priorities of our foreign policy
As a founding member and current chair of SAARC, Nepal strongly believes in regional cooperation to promote collective well-being of the
people of South Asia,& Oli said. &SAARC is an expression of our regional solidarity in South Asia
It has become a common identity for the people of this region,& he said
&It represents hope of over 1.7 billion people from this region for accelerated economic growth, social progress and cultural development.&
Stating that the 19th SAARC Summit was long overdue, he said, &We are eagerly looking forward to handing over the chairmanship
I hope the SAARC member states will come up with consensus to convene the summit at an early date.& PM Oli also planted a rudrakshya sapling
on its premises to mark his visit
After planting the sapling, he said, &May the rudrakshya sapling that I planted here grow to inspire the governments of South Asia to
strengthen the SAARC process for delivering peace, development, prosperity and greater good of the people of South Asia.& While welcoming
the PM, Secretary General of SAARC Amjad Hussain B Sial said Nepal had been playing a very constructive role in its evolution
The secretary general said, &Convening of meetings of the Charter Bodies of SAARC, including the summit, provides renewed impetus to the
SAARC process.& The post Prime Minister Oli visits SAARC Secretariat appeared first on The Himalayan Times.