Esala Ruwan Weerakoon, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), paid a courtesy call on Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Chair of the SAARC Council of Ministers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kathmandu.

Foreign Minister felicitated the Secretary General on his appointment as the fourteenth Secretary General of SAARC. The Secretary General thanked the Government of Nepal for endorsing his nomination. He also expressed the hope that the Government of Nepal would lend its valuable support and guidance to him in the accomplishment of his responsibility as the Secretary General of SAARC.

Foreign Minister Gyawali conveyed good wishes for success of Mr. Weerakoon as the Secretary General of SAARC and expressed confidence that with his long diplomatic experience and good knowledge about South Asia, he would be able to bring fresh momentum in the SAARC process. Foreign Minister assured him of the full support of the Government of Nepal in his endeavours to make SAARC an active, efficient and result-oriented organization.

While reiterating Nepal’s commitment to the SAARC process, Foreign Minister Gyawali underscored the need for early convening of the Nineteenth SAARC Summit. He further stated that Nepal, as the current Chair of SAARC, has been in consultation with other Member States to create a conducive environment for early convening of the Summit.

Foreign Minister stated that SAARC has been making steady progress in the past thirty-five years and stressed the need to make SAARC more active and vibrant to fully tap regional economic potentials and overcome common challenges of the region.