Nepal has formally proposed to host 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in November during the 35th session of SAARC Council of Ministers at Bandos Island in Maldives today.
However, the date will be fixed by the government after consultation and as per the convenience of all the member states.
It will be the third time Nepal would be hosting the Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The 17th Summit was held in Addu City of the Maldives in November 2011.
All the SAARC member states – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – welcomed the proposal.
Foreign ministers of all the member states, except Nepal were present at the meeting since the cabinet has not yet be expanded in Nepal. The Nepali delegation has been led by foreign secretary Shankar Bairagi in the absence of foreign minister.
Earlier, Nepal had hosted the third and the 11th Summit of the regional body in Kathmandu in November 1987 and January 2002 respectively.