India on Saturday said it will bear the full cost of setting up an independent campus of the South Asian University, a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) institution, which held its first convocation on Saturday.
In his address to the graduating students in the presence of Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, said India is committed to bearing 100 per cent of the capital cost towards establishment of the university campus, which is now functioning from a temporary facility here. The Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister termed the university as a "testament" to the shared aspirations and collective prosperity of South Asia.
"The government on its part will do everything needed for proper functioning and further development of the university. The government has identified and allocated about 100 acres of land. I am sure after the campus comes up, it will get more disciplines and will be a model campus for all universities," Singh said.
