The Thirty-first Governing Board Meeting of the SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC) was held from 22-23 January 2024. The Meeting was held in virtual mode and was attended by the Governing Board Members from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country, Nepal, and the SAARC Secretariat.

In his capacity as the Chairperson of the Governing Board, Dr. Rajendra P. Joshi, Deputy Director General (DDG), National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India chaired the Meeting.

The Meeting was apprised by the Director (STAC) on the calendar of activities of the Centre, reports of its audited accounts and annual budget.

The Meeting discussed the programme of activities carried out by the Centre during the last three years and the proposed activities for the calendar year 2024. It also reviewed the Reports of the Centre’s audited accounts, prepared by the Joint Audit Team and proposed budget for the fiscal year 2024. The Governing Board made its recommendations on the calendar of activities and budget of the Centre as well as other matters related to its functioning for consideration of higher SAARC Bodies.

STAC based in Kathmandu, is an important organ of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and is playing a significant role in the fight against the diseases like TB and HIV/AIDS in this region.

SAARC Secretariat

Kathmandu, 23 January 2024

The South Asian University (SAU) - a flagship project of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) – convened Eleventh Meeting of its Governing Board on 18-19 December 2023 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Governing Board Members from the Member States, and representatives from the SAARC Secretariat and SAU attended the two-day Meeting in Kathmandu.

H. E. Mr. Md. Golam Sarwar, Secretary General of SAARC, addressed the Inaugural Session of the Meeting as Chief Guest. In his address, Ambassador Sarwar expressed gratitude to the Government of India for hosting the University in New Delhi and facilitating its smooth functioning since its establishment. He thanked the Chairperson of the Governing Board for convening the Meeting and the Members for making it convenient to travel to Kathmandu to attend the Meeting. He also thanked the previous and present Chairpersons and Members of the Governing Board and Office-bearers of the University for their remarkable contributions to bring the University to where it stands today. “One of the objectives of SAARC as outlined in its Charter is to promote welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life. This can best be achieved through education. The establishment of the South Asian University in New Delhi in 2010 is, therefore, considered as one of the significant accomplishments of SAARC,” Ambassador Sarwar asserted. He further said, “As the Centre of Excellence, the University holds great potential to foster socio-economic and cultural collaboration among the South Asian countries.”

Prof. Dev Raj Adhikari, Chairman, University Grants Commission, Nepal, chaired the Meeting. In his opening remarks, Prof. Adhikari welcomed the participants to the Meeting. He appreciated the role of SAU in facilitating regional cooperation in higher education and research. He also thanked the previous Governing Board members for their hard work in making SAU a reputable platform for teaching, learning and research in the South Asia region.  

The Governing Board decided to appoint Prof. K. K. Agrawal from India as the new President of SAU. The Board also agreed to transfer the Chairmanship of the Governing Board to Pakistan, after Nepal, on the principle of rotation in alphabetical order of the Member States, besides endorsing SAU’s budget for 2023-24 and academic calendar for 2024-25. 

The Board also reviewed the progress and achievements of SAU since its last Meeting.  It appreciated the untiring efforts of the Acting President, Acting Vice President, and Acting Registrar of SAU for their active role in successfully managing the affairs of the University during the transitional period.

As SAARC’s Centre of Excellence, the South Asian University is a unique seat of learning, research and creativity for the citizenry of the region, offering state-of-the-art learning and research facilities with a world-class faculty drawn from within and outside the region. Currently, the University has five Faculties with 7 departments, offering both Masters’ and PhD programmes to around 600 students under the guidance of as many as 55 faculty members.  Around 2000 students and research fellows have been educated at the University thus far.

SAARC Secretariat

Kathmandu, 21 December 2023

Ambassador Golam Sarwar, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and his wife Taslima Sarwar hosted a Reception to celebrate the Thirty-ninth Charter Day of SAARC at Hotel Radisson, Kathmandu on 11 December 2023.

Rt. Hon'ble Mr. Ramsahay Prasad Yadav, Vice President of Nepal, graced the occasion with his presence as the Chief Guest.

Among the guests present at the commemorative event were Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, State Ministers, high-ranking officials from the Supreme Court, Constitutional Bodies, Government, Security Agencies, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, including SAARC's Observer Missions, representatives of civil society and business community, media personnel and people from all walks of life.

Heads of States/Governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka issued special messages to commemorate this historic day. 

Addressing the reception, Ambassador Sarwar stated that since its establishment, SAARC has made steady progress in several agreed areas of cooperation, including poverty alleviation, which has been described by the SAARC Leaders as the over-arching goal of SAARC. He also briefly reviewed the progress of SAARC during 2023 including the ongoing programs supported by ADB, UNESCAP, UNICEF, Government of Japan, Government of Republic of Korea, which are going on full swings, and the activities of Regional Centres and the Specialized Bodies of SAARC located in the member countries. He expressed his optimism to further accelerate the activities of SAARC in the coming years.

The function hosted by the Secretary General of SAARC included a live cultural performance of dances from the eight member states, depicting their rich cultural heritage.

It may be mentioned that, the Heads of State or Government of seven South Asian countries launched SAARC by adopting its Charter at the First Summit held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 08 December 1985 and thereby created the largest regional organisation having more than one quarter of global population.

Since then, 08 December every year is observed as the SAARC Charter Day across the South Asia Region.

SAARC Secretariat,

Kathmandu,

12 December 2023