The Rt. Hon. Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, President of Nepal, received H. E. Mr. Arjun B. Thapa, Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as part of the latter’s courtesy call at his office today.

At the outset, the Rt. Hon. President felicitated H. E. the Secretary-General of SAARC on his appointment and wished him every success in his assignment. He vouched the support of Nepal in making his tenure a success. He also expressed Nepal’s unwavering commitment to the SAARC process for the common good of the people in the region.

H. E. the Secretary-General of SAARC expressed his gratitude to the Rt. Hon. President for finding time to receive him despite his busy schedule. He expressed the hope that as one of the founding members of SAARC and the host of the SAARC Secretariat, Nepal will continue to extend fullest support the SAARC process and the Secretariat respectively.

During the meeting, H. E. the Secretary-General of SAARC apprised the Rt. Hon. President of Nepal of the recent developments in SAARC, including the major outcomes of the recently concluded Inter-Summit Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers. H. E. the Secretary-General made a particular reference to the Comprehensive Study prepared by the Secretariat for strengthening SAARC’s mechanisms, including the SAARC Secretariat and Regional Centres.

The Rt. Hon. President and H. E. the Secretary-General of SAARC discussed measures to make SAARC people-centric in order to deliver tangible benefits to the people at large. They discussed matters pertaining to the Eighteenth SAARC Summit to be hosted by Nepal in November 2014, which was announced by the delegation of Nepal during the recently concluded inter-Summit Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers. They also exchanged views on the administrative and other arrangements that may be required for holding the Summit.

Mr. Dhan Bahadur Oli, Director, was present at the meeting.