Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, June 6:

Prof Biswhamber Pyakuryal, president of Nepal Economic Association (NEA) and Dr Shankar Sharma, vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) left for Maldives today in connection with working out development goals for South Asian countries (SADGs) on behalf of Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA). According to a press statement issued here today by Nepal Economic Association (NEA), the meeting will be held in Maldives on June 8-9.The meeting will be specially centred on preparing a comprehensive and realistic blue-print setting out SAARC Development Goals for the next five years in the areas of poverty alleviation, education, health and environment, states the release.

The twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad in January this year had assigned ISACPA to prepare a framework on the issues like poverty alleviation, education, health and environment. The Commission needs to submit South Asia Development Goals (SADGs) before the next Summit to be held in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka in 2005. The Commissioners of respective SAARC member countries are also attending the Maldives meeting. QAMA Rahim, secretary general of the SAARC will also attend the meeting, further states the NEA release. Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka are the SAARC nations.