SAARC to reshuffle regional centers

KATHMANDU - The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has decided to reshuffle Its regional centers as its Standing Committee concluded the 41st session on Monday in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal.

The two-day session was attended by the foreign secretaries of SAARC member states.

According to the meeting's press release, the committee agreed on the closure of three SAARC regional centers, namely documentation center in New Delhi, human resource development center in Islamabad and information center in Kathmandu, and merger of four regional centers for setting a new center called SAARC Environment and Disaster Management Center (SEDMC).

The Standing Committee also elected Shankere Das Bairagi, acting foreign secretary and the leader of Nepalese delegation, chairman of the Standing Committee.

In the session, the member states presented their country reports, highlighting the status of SAARC activities in their respective countries, and stressed the timely and effective implementation of the programs and activities "with a view to making the SAARC more productive and result-oriented".

The committee also discussed a number of other issues under the SAARC areas of cooperation.