Following message of condolence has been sent today to H. E. Mr. Esala Weerakoon, Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka, by H. E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial, Secretary General of SAARC, on the loss of precious lives and colossal damage to property due to recent torrential rain and landslides in Sri Lanka:

Quote:

Excellency,

            On behalf of all officials of the SAARC Secretariat and on my own behalf, I wish to convey our sincere condolences to the people and the Government of Sri Lanka on the loss of precious lives of more than 150 people due to recent torrential rain and landslides in Sri Lanka. We would also like to express our sympathies on injuries suffered by hundreds of people, and on colossal loss of property, and damage caused to homes of more than 500000 people due to the incident.

Our sympathies are with the bereaved families, who may have the courage to bear this irreparable loss, and prayers for speedy recovery of those who have been injured in the incident and early rehabilitation of those who have lost their homes.

            Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Unquote:

_____

Kathmandu, 29 May 2017.

SAARC – UNICEF Regional Conference on Scaling-up Care for Children with Severe Wasting in South Asia concludes

A Regional Conference on Scaling-up Care for Children with Severe Wasting in South Asia on the theme “Stop Stunting, No Time to Waste” concluded in Kathmandu yesterday.

The three-day Conference, jointly organized by SAARC and UNICEF, was attended by government officials, researchers/academicians and representatives of civil society, development partners and United Nations organizations.

The Conference, inaugurated by Honourable Gagan Kumar Thapa, Minister of Health of Nepal is a follow-up to the South Asia Action Framework on Nutrition, which was developed by SAARC and launched in Kathmandu during the Eighteenth SAARC Summit in November 2014.

The Conference provided participants the opportunity to understand the situation of acute malnutrition in South Asia and share best practices in terms of care for severely wasted children. Participants had extensive discussions on ways to position the care of children with severe wasting on national and regional agenda.

The outcome of the Conference in the form of “Ten Key Messages” calls for stunting and wasting to be addressed with more urgency, to prioritize prevention of both stunting and wasting and to treat severe wasting when prevention fails. It also emphasizes the role of community-based platforms in providing early care.

H.E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial, Secretary General of SAARC addressed the participants both at the Opening and the Closing Sessions of the Conference. He thanked UNICEF ROSA for its support and collaboration. He re-iterated that child nutrition will continue to remain as an important facet of SAARC’s collaboration with UNICEF in their collective efforts to make South Asia a place where every child grows up to their full potential in a healthy and safe environment.

Kathmandu, 19 May 2017

The newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nepal, and SAARC, H. E. Mr. Park Young-sik, today called on the Secretary General of SAARC, H. E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial.

The Secretary General welcomed Ambassador Park to the Secretariat, congratulated him on his appointment, and wished him every success in the new assignment in Kathmandu.

The Secretary General briefed Ambassador Park about the ongoing collaboration between SAARC and the Republic of Korea as an observer of SAARC. He informed the Ambassador about the directive of the Eighteenth Summit to engage the SAARC Observers into productive, demand-driven and objective project-based cooperation in priority areas as identified by the Member States.

Ambassador Park recognized the importance of collaboration between the Republic of Korea and SAARC. He said that as soon as the new Government in Korea is formed, he would take up this matter for identifying projects for the SAARC region.

The Secretary General and Ambassador Park also exchanged views on the on-going cooperation among the Member States of SAARC. They particularly discussed measures underway to promote economic relations, connectivity, energy cooperation, and people-to-people contacts in the region.

____

Kathmandu,

11 May 2017.

The Eleventh Informal Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Yokohama, Japan, on 5 May 2017 on the sidelines of the 50th Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank being held on 4-7 May 2017. The Meeting attended by the Hon’ble Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegations from all SAARC Member State was held under the Chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Nepal, Hon’ble Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

In his opening statement, Hon’ble Mahara thanked ADB for its continuous support and for making excellent arrangements for the Meeting. He congratulated ADB on its Fiftieth Anniversary. Secretary General of SAARC H.E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial thanked ADB for its continued support to SAARC in its journey towards regional economic integration, leading to South Asian Economic Union, since the signing of SAARC-ADB MoU in 2004 and hoped that ADB would continue to support SAARC in future as well.

During the Open Session of the Meeting, Mr. Wencai Zhang, Vice President of Asian Development Bank briefed the Meeting about the projects undertaken by ADB in the 50 years of its existence. He stated that ADB has a long and productive partnership with SAARC countries. He informed the Meeting that as of end 2016, ADB’s cumulative assistance to the sub-region totaled $ 108.6 billion, amounting to more than 40% of ADB’s financing operations.  All Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegations briefed the Meeting about the current status of economic progress achieved by them, appreciated the contribution made by ADB in their economic growth and hoped that SAARC would make further progress to achieve its full potential for the benefit of peoples of the region.