PM to leave for Maldives on Nov 8

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KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai will be paying a 5-day official visit to the Republic of the Maldives from November 8, 2011, at the invitation of the Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.

The Prime Minister will be leading an 11-member Nepalese delegation to the 17th SAARC Summit being held in the Addu City of the Maldives from November 10-11, 2011. He will address the Summit on November 10, 2011.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha 'Prakash' will be leaving Kathmandu on November 7, 2011 to lead the Nepalese delegation to the 34th Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers to be held in the same city on November 9, 2011.

Similarly, Acting Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai will lead the Nepalese delegation to the 39th Session of the SAARC Standing Committee slated for November 7-8, 2011. Likewise, Joint Secretary (South Asia and SAARC) Bharat Raj Paudyal is leading the Nepalese Delegation to the 42nd Session of the Programming Committee being held on November 6, 2011.

The 17th Summit will review the progress in the implementation of the decisions taken in earlier Summits. Poverty alleviation, economic cooperation, SAARC Development Fund, food security, connectivity, energy and climate change are some of the major issues for deliberation during the Summit. Four regional agreements concerning Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, Seed Bank, Multilateral Recognition of Conformity Assessment and Implementation of Regional Standards are likely to be signed during the Summit.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his regional counterparts at the sidelines of the Summit. Similarly, the DPM and Minister for Foreign Affairs will also meet his counterparts at the margin of the Summit.

It will be Nepal's turn to host the next SAARC Summit. The Prime Minister and entourage will return to Kathmandu on November 12, 2011.