SAARC Secretary General, addresses the First Meeting of
the South Asia Parliamentarians Platform for Children, in Kathmandu

Secretary General of SAARC, H.E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial, this morning addressed the First Meeting of the South Asia Parliamentarians Platform for Children, being held in Kathmandu. The two-day Meeting organized by UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (UNICEF ROSA), from 2-3 March 2017, is attended by parliamentarians from Member States of SAARC.

Speaking on the theme, “Making SDGs work for children in South Asia” the Secretary General noted that the presence of the parliamentarians from all SAARC countries at the Meeting is testimony to the importance South Asia attaches to the well-being of children.

In his address, the Secretary General, while emphasizing the importance SAARC attaches to its agenda on children, highlighted major mechanisms and initiatives such as the SAARC’s Social Charter, Declarations of the SAARC Summits, Ministerial Statements, the SAARC Decade of the Rights of the Child and its two major Conventions related to children, namely, Convention on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution and Convention on Regional Arrangement for the Promotion of Child Welfare. He also highlighted important areas related to children on which SAARC is collaborating with UNICEF, such as nutrition, sanitation, children affected by HIV & AIDS and children in disasters.

While noting the tremendous progress achieved by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in addressing many issues affecting the lives of children, the Secretary General observed that this progress was uneven and more importantly, there were thousands of children, who were left out or left behind. He noted that the transformational, ambitious, yet more inclusive global agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have aspired to change the fate of those left behind.

In his address, Secretary General Sial, stressed five important points for consideration while working to achieve the SDGs, in order to ensure that children are put at the center of the SDGs agenda. These are: among competing objectives policies must be prioritized for resources and investment for children; issues affecting children must not be addressed in isolation and all efforts should be well-coordinated across sectors; partnerships must be sought in order to create opportunities for win-win situations; out-of-the-box solutions should be explored to mobilize resources and investment to make policies targeted at the most vulnerable and marginalized; an actionable plan be prepared for our vision, to ensure that the vision does not remain merely a dream.

The Secretary General expressed his belief that parliamentarians of South Asia, as key policy makers are placed at the center stage of our efforts to transform the lives of the South Asian children for the better. He also stressed the importance of a platform like this, which gives a great opportunity to reflect on experiences, learn from each other, and commit ourselves to do more, together. He expressed his hope that the positive outcome of the Meeting will be a guiding force, for efforts towards making the world a better place for our children. Mr. Sial assured full cooperation of SAARC Secretariat in this respect.

H.E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial has assumed

charge of the office of Secretary General of SAARC from 01 March 2017, on completion of the tenure of former Secretary General.

Mr. Sial is a seasoned diplomat from Pakistan Foreign Service with a career spanning over 33 years. He has Masters degree in Defense and Strategic Studies from National Defense University, Islamabad. He has a rich experience in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy both at Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad and Missions abroad. He was Director (Pakistan) from 2003-2006, at SAARC Secretariat Kathmandu.

Secretary General Sial served as Ambassador of Pakistan to the Republic of Tajikistan from 2011-2014 and Ambassador/Alternate Permanent Representative at Pakistan Mission to the United Nations, New York. Before joining SAARC Secretariat he was Special Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.

Kathmandu.

01 March 2017

The two-day Meeting of the 53rd Session of the SAARC Programming Committee concluded in Kathmandu today. The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Mani Prasad Bhattarai, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Nepal.   All SAARC Member States participated in the Meeting.

In his opening address yesterday, H.E Arjun Bahadur Thapa, Secretary General of SAARC highlighted the progress made by SAARC since the last meeting held in Pokhara in March 2016. As the Secretary General is completing his term of office as the 12th Secretary General of SAARC on 28 February 2017, he thanked all the Member States for extending their unflinching support and cooperation in discharge of his responsibilities during his tenure. He expressed satisfaction over having the opportunity to head the Association during the past three years and working for the peoples of the region as mandated by the SAARC Charter.

As one of the Charter bodies entrusted primarily with the responsibility to deal with the administrative and financial matters of the SAARC Secretariat and its Bodies, the Committee also considered the reports emanating from the various SAARC Bodies.

The Meeting delegations were led by Joint Secretaries/Directors General of SAARC/Regional Organizations divisions of the Ministries of Foreign/External Affairs of the SAARC Member States. Directors of the SAARC Regional Centres and Heads of the SAARC Specialized Bodies also attended the meeting.

2 February 2017

H. E. Mr. Arjun B. Thapa, Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), hosted a Reception this evening to commemorate the Thirty-first SAARC Charter Day.

The Rt. Hon. Nanda Babadur Pun, Vice President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal graced the occasion as Chief Guest.

Since the establishment of the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu in 1987, it has been customary for the Secretary-General to host such an event every year to mark the Charter Day.

The Reception organized at Hotel Radisson in Kathmandu to mark the Thirty-first SAARC Charter Day brought together the Ministers, Secretaries and high officials from the Government; Heads of Diplomatic Missions, and regional and international organizations based in Kathmandu; representatives of civil society; entrepreneurs from the business community; and people from various walks of life.

SAARC was launched at the first-ever Summit meeting of the Heads of State or Government held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, following a series of brainstorming sessions among the Senior Officials, Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers of its Member States.  As defined in its Charter, the principal objectives of the Association are to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life through accelerated economic cooperation, social progress and cultural development in the region.

SAARC is a regional organization born out of the consciousness that in an increasingly interdependent world, the objectives of peace, freedom, social justice and economic prosperity are best achieved in the South Asian region by fostering mutual understanding, good neighbourly relations and meaningful cooperation among the Member States, which are bound by ties of history and culture.    

SAARC has witnessed eighteen Summit meetings so far, with the last one held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in November 2014, under the theme, Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity. Pakistan will play host to the Nineteenth SAARC Summit during the last quarter of 2016.

SAARC comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as members.