Pokhara,
March
18:
The
visiting
foreign
and
external
affairs
ministers
and
the
top-level
government
officials
from
the
SAARC
member
countries
were
bade
farewell
amidst
a
ceremony
in
Pokhara
today.
Indian
External
Affairs
Minister
Sushma
Swaraj,
Foreign
Minister
of
the
Maldives
Dunya
Maumoon,
Sri
Lankan
Foreign
Minister
Mangala
Samaraweera,
Bangaldeshi
Foreign
Minister
Abul
Hasan
Muhammad
Ali,
Bhutanese
Foreign
Minister
Damajo
Dorji,
Afghanistan’s
Deputy
Foreign
Minister
Hikmah
Khalid
Karzai
and
Pakistani
Prime
Minister’s
Foreign
Affairs
Advisor
Sartaj
Aziz
arrived
in
the
lake
city
to
participate
in
the
37th
Session
of
the
SAARC
Council
of
Ministers’
meeting
were
bade
farewell.
The
foreign
dignitaries
took
part
in
the
Council
of
Ministers’
meeting
held
various
bilateral
and
multilateral
talks
in
Pokhara.
Indian
External
Affairs
Minister
Sushma
Swaraj
arrived
directly
in
Pokhara
by
an
Indian
Air
Force
aircraft
and
returned
home
by
the
same,
said
Foreign
Ministry’s
Deputy
Chief
of
Protocol,
Rajaram
Bartaula.
The
foreign
ministers
and
officials
of
the
other
SAARC
member
states
will
return
via
Kathmandu,
Foreign
Ministry’s
Joint
Secretary,
Bhrigu
Dhungana
said.
The
VIP
guests
were
seen
off
by
Deputy
Prime
Minister
and
Foreign
Minister
Kamal
Thapa,
Deputy
Chief
of
Protocol
Bartaula,
Regional
Administrator
Shanker
Prasad
Koirala
at
the
Pokhara
Airport.
During
the
meeting,
the
foreign
and
external
affairs
ministers
deliberated
on
a
slew
of
issues
that
included
upholding
SAARC’s
influential
role,
introducing
the
community
forestry
programme–which
has
been
successful
in
Nepal–in
all
SAARC
countries,
eradicating
regional
poverty,
minimizing
the
impacts
of
climate
change
and
linking
all
eight
SAARC
member
countries
in
a
network
of
transport.
The
meeting
also
decided
on
establishing
the
SAARC
Disaster
Management
Centre
in
New
Delhi,
India,
while
setting
up
the
Natural
Management
Centre
in
Islamabad
of
Pakistan.
The
meeting
also
took
the
decision
to
hold
the
19th
SAARC
Summit
on
November
8-10
in
Pakistan.
The
SAARC
Summit
will
be
held
biannually
in
the
month
of
November,
as
per
the
decision.