The 31st Charter Day of the eight-member grouping SAARC was observed in Nepal today which saw participation of senior ministers and officials.
To mark the occasion South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa hosted a reception here which was attended by Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun, senior ministers, lawmakers, high government officials, diplomats, civil society leaders and journalists.
Speaker Onsari Ghartimagar, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa, Minister for Defence Bhim Rawal were present for the function.
SAARC was established in 1985 by eight member states of the South Asian region for promoting regional cooperation, social justice and economic prosperity of the people of the region.
The heads of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka signed the SAARC Charter on December 8, 1985 to establish the South Asian grouping.
SAARC has witnessed eighteen summit meetings so far, with the last one held in Kathmandu in November 2014, under the theme, Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity.
Pakistan will play host to the nineteenth SAARC Summit during the last quarter of 2016.
