SAARC Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Nepal, H.E. Mr. Narayan Kaji Shrestha 'Prakash', today at Singha Durbar.

H.E. Mr. Narayan Kaji Shrestha 'Prakash' stated that he is pleased with the appointment of Mr. Ahmed Saleem, owing to his vast experience in the international arena and his acquaintance with the SAARC. 

The Secretary-General and the Honorable Minister together underscored the fact that as a host of decisions have already been made by the SAARC, it is pertinent to take action on implementing these decisions without delay. Further, matters relating to the advancements made in the SAARC process were also discussed in general.

The Secretary General took this opportunity to thank the Government of Nepal for the excellent cooperation and the unstinted support extended by the Government as the host of the SAARC Secretariat since its inception.

On the behalf of the Government of Nepal the Hon. Minister assured the Secretary-General that every effort will be taken by the Nepalese Government to facilitate the activities and the smooth functioning of the SAARC Secretariat.

The Meeting was also attended by Mrs. R.D. Rajapakse, Director & Dr. Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat, Director,  SAARC Secretariat.

SAARC Secretary General, Mr Ahmed Saleem along with two Directors of SAARC Secretariat, Mr Amrit Lugun and Mr Tareque Muhammad met Ambassador Viorel Isticioaia Budura, Managing Director for Asia and Pacific, European External Action Service and Ambassador Dr Alexander Spachis, Head of Delegation of EU to Nepal on March 19, 2012 in Kathmandu.

During the meeting the EU delegation expressed its keenness to broaden its engagement with SAARC by extending cooperation in a wide range of areas. The Secretary General welcomed EU’s interests in SAARC and reiterated that by working together, SAARC and EU could achieve significant progress in the coming days. The Secretary General pointed out the need to devise an appropriate cooperation arrangement to garner EU’s support in SAARC activities.

The two sides explored possibilities of cooperation, inter alia, in the areas of trade facilitation, connectivity, agriculture and SAARC Development Fund or SDF and any other area that may emerge in future. Both sides agreed to remain engaged to work out a framework of cooperation for the consideration of the SAARC Member States.

SAARC Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem met with the Foreign Secretary of Nepal, H.E. Durga Prasad Battarai today at Singha Durbar.

The Foreign Secretary welcomed the SAARC Secretary-General and expressed confidence that SAARC will achieve new heights under the stewardship of the Secretary-General who possesses a wealth of professional experience.

Many issues pertaining to the progress of SAARC and the directives given by the higher SAARC bodies to bring in further improvements into the SAARC process were also discussed.

The Foreign Secretary assured the SAARC Secretary-General of the fact that the Government of Nepal would extend its fullest support for the effective functioning of the SAARC Secretariat.

The Meeting was also attended by Mr. Ganesh Dakal, Under-Secretary (SAARC Division) and Mr. Dhana Bahadur Oli, Under-Secretary (UN Division) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal and Mrs. R.D. Rajapakse, Director (SAARC Secretariat).

SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Kathmandu, in coordination with the Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, organized a ‘Media Exchange Programme in Islamabad on 5-6 July 2011.  Dr. Firdous Aashiq Awan, Pakistan’s Minister of Information & Broadcasting, inaugurated the Programme as the Chief Guest.  At the conclusion of the Programme, the following recommendations were made:

1. Every meeting and seminar or workshop organized by SIC should start with Action Taken Report on the status of previous related recommendations.
2. SIC may write to the member countries to examine the possibilities of instituting at least one internship and one fellowship for media persons from other SAARC countries. These can be sponsored either by the governments or financed by the private sector groups or by the educational institutions. In case, sponsorships are not forthcoming, a fund may be set aside for the purpose in the SIC budget.
3. Regular Annual meeting of Information Ministers needs to be revived. The matter may be taken up on the priority basis with the higher bodies of SAARC through SIC GB.
   Information and Broadcasting Secretaries of the member countries should meet to review the status of recommendations of various bodies pertaining to media exchange.
   Member countries may designate a coordinating officer to liaise with SIC. Special allowances for the incumbent will be provided by SIC. The incumbent should have a fixed tenure of at least two years.
4. SIC should request the member countries to facilitate down-linking of channels, specially the national public broadcasters from the member countries in concurrence with local laws. It will contribute to the spirit of ‘building bridges’- the theme of forthcoming SAARC Summit.
5. SIC shall approach the member countries for compilation of rules and guidelines regarding conducting media exchanges (such as permission for shooting, investment, content sharing or any other related activity) and the compilations will be made available on SIC website.
6. A SAARC media award may be instituted. Nominations may be invited through open advertisement on SIC website and related platforms in the member states. Guidelines and modalities of the award shall be circulated among the member countries before adoption. SIC will be the nodal agency.
7. SIC’s presence on social media network need to be established. SIC shall create a Facebook page. SIC will also create presence on Twitter, You Tube and blogs.
8. Link of SIC website shall be on the websites of the coordinating ministries of the member states.
9. SAARC News Network for news agency level cooperation need to be established.