H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC, paid a farewell call on H. E. Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Foreign Secretary of Nepal.  

At the start of the meeting, the Secretary-General thanked the Foreign Secretary for finding time to receive him. The Secretary-General also congratulated the Foreign Secretary on his new and important assignment.

In his briefing, the Secretary-General acknowledged that the establishment of the Association has largely contributed to the maintenance of peace in the region, besides opening up ample vistas for effective regional cooperation. He stated that there is much that SAARC could achieve for the common good of the people in the region. He further said that in order to make SAARC a robust organization, the SAARC Secretariat has recently conducted a comprehensive Study to strengthen its mechanisms, including the Secretariat, Regional Centres and Specialized Bodies of SAARC.

In his remarks, the Foreign Secretary emphasized upon the need to develop and implement sub-regional and regional projects that bring about tangible benefits for the people of South Asia. He laid emphasis on strengthening people-to-people contacts through people-centric programs and projects.   He also stressed on the need to strengthen the SAARC Secretariat to meet the ever-increasing ambit of regional cooperation under the auspices of the Association.

The Secretary-General thanked the Foreign Secretary for the support and cooperation extended to him and the Secretariat by the Government of Nepal as the host.

The Foreign Secretary complimented the Secretary-General for the exemplary leadership he provided to the Secretariat in taking forward the process of regional cooperation.

Mr. Dhan Bahadur Oli, Director, SAARC Secretariat was present at the meeting.