SAARC cabinet secretaries want exchange of officers for training and co-operation

REGIONAL collaboration among the SAARC institutions and officials would now be institutionalized by creating a network of institutions, reserving training slots in prestigious institutions and exchange of visits, a two-day meeting of SAARC cabinet secretaries held in New Delhi on Friday and Saturday decided. The meeting was attended by all the cabinet secretaries from the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) member states --- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Member states will share information on best practices in the field of administrative reforms by preparing a compendium, and hosting the best practices on websites of SAARC member states, an Indian government release said. The cabinet secretaries also deliberated upon areas where major innovations were tried out in various member states to benefit their citizens. Member states also discussed rural development programmes in their own countries and their impact on people. Various institutions in SAARC member countries have developed rural development models which will be made available to the SAARC secretariat for putting together an Index of Rural Development Models. Further exchange of information and knowledge on rural development models will take place based on the felt needs of member countries. (In Picture: SAARC Secretariat at Kathmandu, established on 16 January 1987 mainly to coordinate and monitor the implementation of SAARC activities)