KATHMANDU: Nepal on Thursday began its first two-day SAARC-level dialogue in Kathmandu, to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDGs, long term global development goals for next 15 years, were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September last year.

A statement released by the Ministry of Youth and Sports today said that the event “SAARC Regional Dialogue on Promoting Youth Participation in the Implementation of SDGs” is aimed at promoting youth participation and implementation of the SDGs.

According to the statement, representatives of all the eight SAARC member countries were present in the programme to explore and promote mechanism for the youth’s involvement in national as well as sub-national levels across SAARC.

Nepal and the SAARC Secretariat, along with the technical and financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are hosting the event.

Minister for Youth and Sports Satya Narayan Mandal said in the inaugural, “We are delighted to host the SAARC Youth Dialogue in Nepal; youth in the SAARC region have similar problems, opportunities and challenges."

"And these problems can be solved through the development of youth skills, entrepreneurship, leadership, and also by increasing youth participation.”

The Dialogue aims to share experiences of policy development and involve more young people in the process across the SAARC countries. It will further hold discussions on future plans and strategies for active youth participation, the statement added.

A workshop was also held on youth participation on Wednesday in a bid to find ways to implement the SDGs in SAARC countries.