Six Interns Mr. Akin Shibi JJ, Ms. Aishwarya Singh, Ms. Rajlaxmi Nayak, Ms. Arpita Rout, Ms. Sudha Damarla and Ms. Anmol Motwani with H.E. the Secretary General of SAARC Ambassador Md. Golam Sarwar and concerned SAARC Dirtectors after completion of their internship programme at SAARC Secretariat.

The SAARC Internship Programme (SIP), initiated in 2004, aims to promote awareness about SAARC among students and young researchers in the region.The Programme also aims at encouraging and facilitating research and studies in the areas of interest for the Association.

The Programme is open to under-graduate, graduate and postgraduate students from South Asia and applications are accepted twice a year -- summer and winter sessions.

During the 19th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Member States of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) in Tehran on 24 June 2024, on the sidelines, H.E. the Secretary General met the Acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, current ACD Chair, H.E. Dr. Ali Bagheri.

They discussed the need of collaboration and sharing of experiences between SAARC and ACD for common cause of advancing closer regional cooperation.

Noting that Iran has an Observer status in SAARC, the Secretary General shared that SAARC is working on how productive and tangible cooperation can be advanced with Observer countries in specific areas.

The Acting Foreign Minister of Iran thanked the SAARC Secretary General for accepting the invitation to participate in the ACD Ministerial Meeting and stated that he looked forward to greater cooperation between the two organisations.

28 June 2024

H.E. the Secretary General of SAARC Ambassador Md. Golam Sarwar had a meeting today with the Foreign Secretary of Nepal H.E. Ms. Sewa Lamsal, who is also the current Chair of the SAARC Standing Committee.
The Secretary General briefed the Foreign Secretary on the recent activities of SAARC, including his introductory visits to Member States as well as the activities of SAARC Regional Centres and Specialized Bodies. The dignitaries also discussed the future activities of SAARC.

28 June 2024

His Excellency the Secretary General of SAARC Ambassador Md. Golam Sarwar addressed the Nineteenth Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Member States of Asia Cooperation Dialogue being held in Tehran today.
In his statement, Ambassador Sarwar made a point that regional cooperation is more of a necessity than a choice for greater prosperity of Asia. The cost of lack of cooperation or less cooperation will be much higher than our imagination, he said, this has become more true today, especially because we face more challenges than ever before.

In his remarks, the Secretary General stated that as the largest and most populated continent of the Earth, Asia had always enjoyed a rich history and cultural diversity. He further stated that abound with a third of the Earth's landmass and almost two thirds of the world population, mostly young and energetic, Asia today is a promising combination of economic strength, demography and unique value system that accords primacy to social well-being over individual, self-centered pursuits.

Underlining that the establishment of ACD in 2002 marked a historic development, providing a common forum for dialogue for the countries in Asia in forming a prosperous Asian Community through active collaboration in different areas, the Secretary General expressed his confidence that this Ministerial Meeting would add further momentum to the implementation of the “ACD Blueprint-2030”.

Ambassador Sarwar defined SAARC as essentially a people-centric organization, created to promote the welfare of the people and to improve their quality of life through regional cooperation. The Secretary General stated, SAARC today encompasses every sphere of development activities having bearing on the lives and livelihood of the people of South Asia.

In the quest of a fruitful journey towards effective regional integration, SAARC is always eager to learn from other regional and international organizations with similar aims and purposes, the Secretary General said, SAARC and ACD have common objectives and their initiatives complement each other, thereby spurring the possibility of active engagement between the two organizations.

The Ministerial Meeting was presided by His Excellency Dr. Ali Bagheri, Acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ministers of Foreign Affairs, State Ministers, Foreign Secretaries and Secretaries of ACD Member States led their respective delegation to the Meeting.

24 June 2024