KATHMANDU: The 18th meeting of the South Asia Telecommunications Regulators' Council (SATRC) has kicked off in the Capital on Tuesday.

Representatives from nine countries including Nepal are participating in the three-day meeting organised under coordination of Nepal Telecommunications Authority.

The meeting would elect Nepal as the chair of the Council. The meet will also discuss on how to fulfill Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 through the medium of telecommunications, information, technology and digital structure, and move ahead by reviewing the progress made in the sector of telecommunications regulation in recent periods in these countries.

Inaugurating the meeting, Minister for Information and Communications Mohan Bahadur Basnet said that there were various challenges regarding how to regulate the newly developed technologies in the sector of telecommunications in a legal manner.

Minister Basnet said that the government was committed to fulfilling SDGs through information technology. "Nepal has now moved ahead towards the journey of economic prosperity by ending political transition after holding elections of local-level, House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies."

Similarly, Communications Secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari stressed that the need of joining hands to launch 5G service in telecommunication sector as well as to control cyber crime and to regulate new technologies.

Likewise, Chairperson of Nepal Telecom Authority, Digamber Jha, said that both—technical and legal sides should be made strong to regulate telecom sector.

The meeting would prepare a new action plan to regulate telecommunications of South Asia.