After a long wait, the 35th sitting of the Saarc Foreign Ministers will be held in Male, the capital of the Maldives, on Thursday with a focus on regional connectivity and enhancing trade ties among the Saarc countries.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will lead the Bangladesh delegation to the meeting and leave here for Male on Wednesday, an official at the Foreign Ministry told UNB on Monday.
Major regional issues, including combating terrorism and drug trafficking, maritime security and piracy, energy security, poverty alleviation, agriculture and food security, climate change and environment; education and health are likely o come up for discussions at the meeting, according to the official.
Approval of new Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) secretary general from Nepal and the decision on cultural ties with China and South Korea will be discussed.
The meeting, to be participated by Foreign Ministers of all Saarc countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is expected to review the existing guidelines relating to Saarc’s engagement with observer countries, in order to maximize the benefits gained from such engagement.
The meeting will also discuss the comprehensive study on strengthening Saarc mechanisms, the first-ever conducted by the secretariat, including regional centres and specialised bodies.
Before the meeting of the Saarc Council of Foreign Ministers, the fortieth session of the standing committee, 6th special session of the standing committee will be held, according to the Saarc Secretariat.
Meanwhile, the 45th session of the Saarc programming committee was held on Monday in the Bandos Island Resort, Maldives, said an official at the Foreign Ministry.
Permanent Secretary, Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs and chair of the meeting, Hassan Shifau opened the session by welcoming the delegates from all member states and the Saarc Secretariat.
In his opening remarks, Saarc secretary general Ahmed Saleem updated the committee on the implementation of the decisions taken at the forty-fourth session of the programming committee.
The programming committee deliberated on a number of issues of cooperation and financial and administrative matters of Saarc.
Source: UNBConnect
