Nepal has stressed the need for an early resumption of stalled SAARC summit, saying the organisation has a greater role to play in South Asia. ”We did not meet last year, 2000 is also nearing end it is high time the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) sit together to take up pending issues, Nepalese Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya told PTI in an interview.
The 11th summit of SAARC was scheduled to be held in Kathmandu last November. But it was postponed for indefinite period after military coup in Pakistan, which ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government. Under the SAARC charter adopted 15 years ago, the summit cannot be held without the presence of all seven members India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
Acharya said that Nepal not being a member of any other regional forum, was more concerned about the fate of SAARC, launched in 1985 to promote economic development of the region. “We are more interested in convening the meeting because we are the poorest of the poor in the continent,” he added.
Acharya said he was looking forward to a meeting with his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha on the sidelines of a World Bank meeting in Prague next week.

Bureau Report