Secretary-General of SAARC calls on Foreign Minister of Nepal

H. E. Mr. Arjun B. Thapa, Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) paid a courtesy call on H. E. Mr. Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Minister of Foreign Affairs at the latter’s office today.

During the meeting, H. E. the Secretary-General felicitated the Hon. Foreign Minister on his recent appointment. He expressed the hope that under the able guidance of the Hon. Foreign Minister, Nepal will continue to support the process of regional cooperation under the framework of SAARC. He further hoped that the Government of Nepal will extend its fullest cooperation to the SAARC Secretariat as its benign host.
 

The Hon. Foreign Minister and H. E. the Secretary-General exchanged views on a number of issues relating to SAARC and its agenda of cooperation, with a particular reference to the decisions of the inter-Summit Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers that concluded in the Maldives last month. Matters pertaining to the strengthening of SAARC Mechanisms, including the SAARC Secretariat and Regional Centres figured prominently during the discussions.

The Hon. Foreign Minister and H. E. the Secretary-General also discussed several issues with regard to the preparatory work in connection with the Eighteenth SAARC Summit.

During the recently concluded inter-Summit Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers, Nepal offered to host the Eighteenth Summit in Nepal in November 2014.  
Mr. Dhan Bahadur Oli, Director, was also present at the meeting.

H. E. Mr. Arjun B. Thapa, Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) paid a courtesy call on H. E. Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Officiating Foreign Secretary at the latter’s office today.

During the meeting, the Foreign Secretary congratulated H. E. Mr. Thapa on his appointment as the twelfth Secretary-General of the Association, which, he added, was a testimony to the trust and confidence reposed in his leadership by the Member States. The Foreign Secretary wished the Secretary-General every success in his important responsibility.

H. E. the Secretary-General expressed the confidence that Nepal will continue to extend its fullest support to promote the ideals of SAARC for the common good of the peoples in the region.

The Secretary-General and the Foreign Secretary discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the preparatory work in connection with the Eighteenth SAARC Summit to which Nepal will play host in November 2014 as was announced during the inter-Summit Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers held in the Maldives in February 2014.

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

H. E. Mr. Arjun B. Thapa assumes office of the Secretary-General of SAARC

H. E. Mr. Arjun Bahadur Thapa of Nepal assumed charge as the Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) from 1 March 2014. H. E. Mr. Thapa is the twelfth Secretary-General of the Association and succeeds H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem of the Maldives.

H. E. Mr. Thapa was appointed to the position by the Thirty-fifth Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers held in the Maldives on 20 February 2014. Endorsing the nomination from the Government of Nepal, the Council “approved the appointment of H. E. Mr. Arjun Bahadur Thapa as the next Secretary General of SAARC for a three-year term commencing from 1st March 2014.”

Prior to this appointment, H. E. Mr. Thapa served as the Foreign Secretary of Nepal. In his diplomatic career, H. E. Mr. Thapa has also served as Ambassador of Nepal to the United Arab Emirates and as Deputy Permanent Representative/Minister Plenipotentiary as well as Charge d’Affaires, a.i., at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York.

Born in January 1956, H. E. Mr. Thapa has a Masters’ Degree in International Law.

The Secretaries-General of SAARC are appointed by the Council of Ministers upon nomination by a Member State on the basis of the principle of rotation in alphabetical order for a period of three years.

Launched in December 1985, SAARC comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as its members.

The Thirty-Fifth Session of the SAARC Ministers of Foreign/External Affairs was held in the Maldives on 20th February 2014.  The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives.   This was preceded by Fortieth Session of the Standing Committee, 6th Special Session of the Standing Committee and Forty-fifth Session of the Programming Committee during 17-19 February, 2014, with participation from all SAARC Member States.

The Foreign/External Affairs Ministers of SAARC Member States had last met in Addu City, Maldives in November, 2011.

During these meetings, the whole gamut of issues related to co-operation amongst Member States of SAARC were discussed, including strengthening of SAARC Mechanism.  

The Council was unanimous in applauding the out-going Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, for his stewardship in taking the SAARC process forward.  The Council also approved the appointment of Mr. Arjun Bahadur Thapa, former Foreign Secretary, Government of Nepal, as the new Secretary-General of SAARC.  H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem demits office on 28th February, 2014.

During the meeting, Nepal also announced hosting the Eighteenth Summit of Heads of SAARC Member States sometime in November, 2014.