Press Release

Ms. Li Jiang, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province of China called on H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary General of SAARC, on 15 April 2013 at his residence.
The Vice Governor invited the Secretary-General to attend the Twenty-first Session of China Kunming Import and Export Fair and the First Session of China - South Asia Exposition to be held in

Kunming from 6 to 10 June 2013. She handed over the letter of invitation to the Secretary-General.

While thanking Ms. Jiang for the invitation, the Secretary-General expressed his willingness to attend the two events in Kunming.

Ms. Jiang was accompanied by a seven-member delegation from China.


H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC, addressed the Executive Committee of the SAARC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) in Kathmandu on 22 April 2013.


Referring to the Declarations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth SAARC Summits on the role of the private sector, the Secretary-General said, “It is amply clear that successive SAARC Summits have always recognized the important contribution of the private sector in the regional economic integration, which is one of the primary goals of our Association.” At the end of his Address, he said, "Before I conclude, I would like to emphasize the point that we must vigorously pursue greater economic cooperation because only that will create the necessary climate of mutual trust and confidence that is indispensable to creating an environment of peace and stability in the region."  


As the SAARC Apex Body, SCCI brings together the representatives of the private sector from across the region to promote regional economic integration. SCCI is currently headed by its President Mr. Vikramjit Singh Sahney. Its headquarters is based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

 


The Third Meeting of SAARC Ministers on Poverty Alleviation was inaugurated by Rt. Honourable Khil Raj Regmi, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Minister for Defence, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Government of Nepal. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Ministers and Senior Officials from all eight SAARC Member States, Ambassadors and Ministers, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission and Senior Officials from the Government of Nepal.

The Third Meeting of SAARC Ministers on Poverty Alleviation was chaired by Hon. Vidyadhar Mallik, Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development; and Health and Population, Government of Nepal and the Fifth Meeting of SAARC Secretaries on Poverty Alleviation was chaired by Mr. Ran Bahadur Shrestha, Secretary, Ministry of Co-operatives and Poverty Alleviation, Government of Nepal.

Some of the major outcomes of the Meeting are as follows:

·         extension of the first cycle of SAARC Development Goals from 2012 till 2015, which would coincide with the completion of MDGs in 2015;

·         replacing RPP, which was being published since 2003, with SDR (SAARC Development Report) from 2014 onwards to be published biennially;

·         publishing the Regional Poverty Profile (RPP) 2009 – 2010 titled “Food Security Challenges for the Poor and Social Inclusion”, shortly by the SAARC Secretariat;

·         proceeding further with the project of SAARC Handicraft Village (SHV): Handicraft Design, Development and Promotion Centres (HDDPCs); and

·         organizing a ‘Symposium on Best Practices for Poverty Alleviation and SAARC Development Goals: Evidences on Improvements in Policy, Programme Designs and Implementation’ at the SAARC Secretariat in the coming months.

Further, the Member States felt the need to provide SAARC inputs for the post-2015 developmental agenda.

The Fourth Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Poverty Alleviation preceded by the Sixth Meeting of SAARC Secretaries on Poverty Alleviation will be held in Bhutan.


The SAARC Secretariat observed the Staff Day on 16 January 2013 to mark the day of its establishment.

 

This is the first time that the Secretariat observed the Day upon initiation by the incumbent Secretary-General of SAARC, H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem.

 

 Addressing the officials of the Secretariat on the Staff Day, the Secretary-General said, “The main purpose of this initiative is to

honour the staff for their hard workand dedication and to create a conducive atmosphere in the Secretariat where everyone works 

 harder than before with unwavering commitment and devotion.”

 

On the same occasion, in pursuance of the decision of the Forty-second Session of the Programming Committee, the Secretary-General also declared Mr. Balkrishna Pariyar, Messenger, the best performer for the year 2012.

 

To mark the Day, the Secretariat organized a table tennis tournament participated in by the Secretary-General, its Directors and officials. Mr. Kumar Shrestha and Mr. Ratan Silwal won the final match against Mr. Tareque Muhammad and Mr. Madhusudan Lamichhane.

 

Likewise, in commemoration of the Day, a Staff Picnic will be held in Dhulikhel on Sunday, 20 January 2013 during which the best performer of the Secretariat and the winning team of the tournament will be awarded.

 

Established in 1987 in Kathmandu, the Secretariat coordinates and monitors the implementation of SAARC activities, services the meetings of the Association and initiates proposals for regional cooperation, including elaboration of sub-regional and regional projects and identification of sources of their funding.

 

The Secretariat comprises a Secretary-General, eight Directors and regionally and locally recruited officials from Member States, namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.


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