H. E. Mr. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon of Sri Lanka assumed charge of office as the Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with effect from 01 March 2020. He is the fourteenth Secretary General of SAARC.

            H. E. Mr. Weerakoon is a career diplomat. Prior to this appointment, he was the Senior Additional Secretary to the President

H. E. Mr. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), paid a courtesy call on Hon. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Chair of the SAARC Council of Ministers, on 11 March 2020, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kathmandu.

The Hon. Foreign Minister felicitated the Secretary

The Leaders of the Member States of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held a Video Conference on 15 March 2020 to discuss measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the region.  

H. E. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, who proposed the Video Conference, delivered the opening remarks. He called upon SAARC Leaders to work collectively to

H. E. Mr. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), paid an introductory courtesy call on the Rt. Hon. Mrs. Bidhya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal, today.

During the call on, the Rt. Hon. President felicitated the Secretary General on his appointment as the fourteenth Secretary General of SAARC. The Rt. Hon.

SAARC Health Ministers’ Video Conference to address the COVID-19 pandemic was held today. Organized by the Government of Pakistan, the Conference was attended by all the Member States.

Hon’ble Dr. Zafar Mirza, Minister of State for Health of Pakistan chaired the Conference. After his opening remarks, the Heads of Delegation from the Member States briefed on their country

H. E. Mr. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), paid an introductory courtesy call on the Rt. Hon. Mr. KP Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal, today at his residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu.

The Prime Minister felicitated the Secretary General on his appointment as the fourteenth Secretary General of SAARC.

The Fifteenth Informal Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was heldon 16 September 2020 from 1 PM to 3 PM (Manila Time) in Virtual Mode, on the sidelines of 53^rd Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB), also being held in Virtual Mode on 17-18 September 2020. The Meeting, attended by the Hon’ble Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegations from

The Virtual Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Education/Higher Education on education sector’s response to COVID-19 was held yesterday in Kathmandu.

Convened by the Government of Nepal, the Conference had participation from all the Member States.

Hon’ble Mr. Giriraj Mani Pokharel, Minister for Education, Science and Technology of Nepal, chaired the

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan convened the First Meeting of the SAARC Planning Ministers in virtual mode, today. The Meeting was devoted to the theme, ‘Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South Asia: Shaping the SAARC Vision-2030’.

Hon’ble Mr. Asad Umar, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives of Pakistan, chaired the

The Fifty-eighth Session of the Programming Committee of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) commenced in virtual mode, this morning. 

H. E. Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal, Foreign Secretary of Nepal and Chairman of the SAARC Standing Committee, addressed the Inaugural Session of the Programming Committee. In his Address, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the