(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – The visiting SAARCSecretary General Ambassador Golam Sarwar had a meeting with Acting Foreign Secretary for Foreign Affairs U.L. Md. Jauhar at the Foreign Ministry today, 12 June 2024. This meeting was preceded by a session with senior officials at the Foreign Ministry and the Secretary General of SAARC and his delegation.
The Actg. Secretary welcomed Ambassador Sarwar and inquired about different aspects of current activities of SAARC. During their discussion, the Secretary General praised the willingness of Sri Lanka to activate and motivate the various modalities of regional cooperation within the SAARC system. The Acting Foreign Secretary, along with the Secretary General, exchanged views on how best the SAARC process could be revitalized in order to fully exploit the potentials and benefits of the institutional mechanism and the synergy the organization has created over the last forty years of its existence. Secretary General Sarwar expressed his gratitude to the esteemed Government of Sri Lanka for hosting the SAARC Cultural Centre and providing continued support for its smooth functioning. The Secretary General invited the esteemed Government of Sri Lanka to revive the initiative to launch the long-pending SAARC Passenger Ferry Service among the three countries in the Region, namely India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
During the Meeting, Acting Foreign Secretary Jauhar assured Sri Lanka’s commitment to extend every possible support to materialize the goals of SAARC and to achieve sustainable and integrated development in the region through cooperation. The Actg. Secretary requested the Secretary General to continue his consultation with member states and urged to revitalize SAARC Cooperation to face the growing challenge that the region is facing. This Meeting was followed by a luncheon hosted by the Actg. Secretary in honour of the Secretary General of SAARC and his delegation.
