37th SAARC Council of Ministers meet ends

POKHARA: The 37th session of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Council of Ministers concluded in Pokhara of Nepal on Thursday.

The meeting decided to hold the 19th Summit of the regional body in Pakistan on November 9-10 this year.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa, the session unanimously endorsed Pakistan’s proposal to host the Summit.

Organising a press conference here after conclusion of the meeting, Thapa, who had chaired the meeting, said the event was a grand success.

Before the November Summit, which will be attended by heads of the states or governments of eight member states, the Council of Ministers comprising foreign affairs ministers, the Standing Committee comprising foreign secretaries and the Porgamming Committee comprising foreign joint secretaries would be held in Pakistan.

SAARC Council of Minister’s meeting in Pokhara successfully concluded today.Thank you all Foreign Ministers of SAARC pic.twitter.com/T355BTVXol

— Kamal Thapa (@KTnepal) March 17, 2016

Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers endorsed the SAARC Standing Committee’s recommendation that the SAARC Summits be held in every alternate November. The decision however is subject to approval from the 19th Summit itself.

The meeting also endorsed Pakistan’s nomination of Amjad Hussain B Sial for the next Secretary General of the regional body. Sial will replace Nepal’s Arjun Bahadur Thapa in February next year.

The SAARC ministers decided to establish the SAARC Disaster Management Centre in New Delhi of India. A component of the centre overseeing environmental issues, however, will be merged into the SAARC Energy Centre, which is in Pakistan.

Thapa added that the meeting welcomed Nepal’s proposal that its successful community forestry management programme be taken up by all SAARC member-states as it has received worldwide fame and acclamation in this regard.

Nepal, however, is yet to hold further discussions over the project before implementing it, the DPM maintained.

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