April 1, 2014, 4:00 pm 
Nepal has proposed South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation’s (SAARC) summit on November 14.
It will be the third time Nepal hosting the SAARC summit since 1985. Nepal had twice before hosted the summit in 1987 and 2002.
Communication minister Dr Minendra Rijal said that the government has decided yesterday to hold the regional bloc’s 18th summit on November 14. The proposal would soon be submitted to the SAARC secretariat in Kathmandu for the approval of member countries, he said, adding that the date has to be approved by the SAARC member countries too.
Earlier on February 20, Nepal had – during the SAARC council of ministers meeting in Maldives – tabled a proposal to hold the summit in November.
The regional association of eight South Asian countries SAARC was established in 1985 to work jointly for regional development and cooperation.
According to the SAARC charter, an annual meeting of the leaders of the eight member countries must be held regularly.
However, due to various reasons, the SAARC summit has been often delayed and not been held annually.
The last SAARC summit, which was 17th, was held in the Maldives in 2011.
