H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC, received Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director, Nepal Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at his office yesterday.

The Country Director was accompanied by Mr. Priyantha Wijayatunga, Unit Head, Portfolio Management Unit of the Nepal Resident Mission. Mr. Ahmar Ismail, Director, SAARC Secretariat was also present.

During the meeting, the Country Director handed over to the Secretary-General the SAARC Study on the South Asia Power Exchange that was recently published by ADB. The Study, the first of its kind, opens up a myriad of windows for collaboration among the Member States of SAARC in the important field of energy.

The Secretary-General thanked ADB for extending technical and financial assistance to SAARC in the preparation of the Study. He expressed confidence that the Study will go a long way in harnessing the energy potential of the region to the common benefit of SAARC’s membership. “It is a great leap forward in an important component of regional cooperation as energy,” he asserted.

The Study that runs into some 200 plus pages was published by ADB in June 2013. It was finalized during the Seventh Meeting of the SAARC Working Group on Energy held in Sri Lanka in March 2013.  The Study, inter alia, identifies possible cross border power transmission interconnections and scenarios of regionally interconnected power systems; brings to the fore scenarios for nodal point supply and demand in the region covered or to be covered by interconnected power systems; determines the technical potential for cross border power exchanges, the additional power transmission required, and the institutional, regulatory and commercial principles and procedures to be followed in formalized cross border power trade; and carries out the economic and financial analyses of different power trade options with the perspective of (a) optimization of resources at regional level (b) improving overall reliability of electric supply in the region and (c) environmental benefits.

The Twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad in 2004 embraced energy as one of its priority areas of cooperation. The same Summit directed that a study on creating a South Asian Energy Cooperation including the concept of an Energy Ring be undertaken.  Following this directive, SAARC had prepared the Regional Energy Trade Study with the technical and financial assistance of ADB in March 2010. The Study recognized the benefits of establishing a regional power market for enhancing regional energy trade in the region.

The present Study is therefore a sequel to the recommendation of the erstwhile Study conducted in March 2010. The Study was authorized by the Thirty-seventh Session of the Standing Committee held in Thimphu in April 2010, preceding the Sixteenth SAARC Summit.

H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) called on Hon. Rabindra Kumar Shakya, Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission of Nepal at the latter’s office today.

During the meeting, the Secretary-General apprised the Vice-Chairman of the ongoing efforts of the SAARC Secretariat aimed at the alleviation of poverty in the region. These included initiatives as publication of the Regional Poverty Profiles (RPPs), 2009-10 and 2011-12 on the themes “Food Security Challenges for the Poor and Social Inclusion” and “SAARC Development Goals (SDGs) Achievements” respectively; holding of an Inter-Governmental Expert Group at the Secretariat in September 2013 to discuss achievements of SDGs; holding of a Workshop to formulate SAARC’s position on Post-2015 Development Agenda; and convening of a Symposium on Best Practices on Poverty Alleviation in South Asia.

The Secretary-General also briefed the Vice Chairman about the impending initiatives of the SAARC Secretariat as SAARC Handicraft Development Centre; Highland Food Security with high value chains in South Asia; and Urban Poverty Management.

Welcoming the presentation of the Secretary-General, the Vice Chairman pledged the support of the Government of Nepal towards the initiatives of the SAARC Secretariat in reducing poverty in the region, to which, he added, Nepal also attached high priority at the national level.

Mr. Dhan Bahadur Oli, Director, who heads the Poverty Alleviation Division at the Secretariat, was also present at the meeting.

Established in December 1985 with the primary objective of improving the welfare of the people of South Asia, SAARC comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as its members. At the Twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad in 2004, the Heads of State or Government declared poverty alleviation as the “overarching” goal of SAARC. Subsequently, the Thirteenth SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in 2005 declared the decade of 2006-15 as the Decade of Poverty Alleviation.

According to the World Bank estimates, SAARC is home to a population of 1.65 billion of which 32 percent fall below the international poverty line at US$ 1.25 per capita per day. The average per capita Gross National Income (GNI) of SAARC countries stood at US $ 1358.00 in 2012. The GNI of South Asia has been growing by 6.53 percent annually during the last decade.

H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC, addressed the Core Group of Immigration and Visa Experts at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu today.

Participated in by representatives of all the Member States, the two-day Meeting of the Core Group brings together immigration and visa experts from the region in a bid to expand the scope of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme. The Scheme currently entitles a limited number of people to visa-free travel within the region.

“I am happy to note that this meeting convenes finally today and tomorrow at the SAARC Secretariat with the participation of all the Member States. The presence of delegates from all the Member States not only signifies the importance of this meeting, but also augurs well for its success, paving the way for the smooth functioning of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme,” said the Secretary-General in his address.

The Fifth SAARC Summit held in November 1990 in the Maldives had decided to launch the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme with the ultimate objective of putting in place a visa free regime in South Asia. “You would agree with me that considered as a milestone in the history of SAARC, the Scheme, that became operational in 1992, has enormous potential in enhancing people to people contacts in the region. Though there are presently only 24 categories of entitled persons, the list is bound to grow with the passage of time in the larger interest of our Association,” the Secretary-General stated.
Referring to the concerns regarding difficulties with the revised procedures for issuance of visa stickers to certain categories of persons including the businessmen, the Secretary-General urged the meeting to simplify them. “I would like to urge this meeting to revisit the procedures to make them simple and achievable,” he said.

The Guidelines and Procedures governing the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme provides for annual meetings of the Immigration Authorities of Member States in order to facilitate its smooth functioning.

The Fifth Meeting of Immigration Authorities held in Malé on 24 September 2012 had recommended the convening of the Core Group of Immigration and Visa Experts to consider including new categories of persons.

On the recommendation of the Fifth Meeting of Immigration Authorities, a Meeting of Experts is to convene at the Secretariat immediately following the Core Group’s meeting, to consider the establishment of the SAARC Immigration Liaison Network, a proposal mooted by the Maldives.

H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) addressed the Special Meeting on Non-tariff Measures (NTMs) and Para-tariff Measures (PTMs) convened at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu today.

The Special Meeting brought together representatives of all the Member States of SAARC to discuss measures to dismantle all barriers to trade under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) Agreement. Office bearers of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) were also present at the meeting.

Addressing the opening of the Special Meeting at the Secretariat, the Secretary-General said, “I am glad to note that the Seventh Meeting of the SAFTA Committee of Experts (COE) held in Islamabad after the Seventeenth SAARC Summit, while considering matters relating to NTBs and PTBs, recommended that it would be necessary to hold a Special Meeting of the SAFTA COE on NTMs and PTMs. This meeting, I hope, will effectively address the objectives and concerns of the SAARC Leaders with regard to non-tariff and para-tariff barriers.”

The Special Meeting takes place in the lead up to the next meeting of the SAFTA Ministerial Council scheduled for 23 August 2013 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Council comprising Commerce Ministers of SAARC Member States is the highest decision-making body of SAFTA and is responsible for its administration and implementation. The SAFTA Agreement signed on 6 January 2004 came into force with effect from 1 January 2006.

At the Seventeenth SAARC Summit held in the Maldives in November 2011, SAARC Leaders had directed the SAFTA Ministerial Council to intensify efforts to fully and effectively implement SAFTA through early resolution of non-tariff barriers.

The Special Meeting was preceded by a Session of the Working Group on Reduction of Sensitive Lists under SAFTA at the SAARC Secretariat on 30 July 2013.