KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today said that South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has made a huge leap forward in fulfilling the wishes of the people in the region but said poverty, hunger, illiteracy and diseases still remain major bottlenecks to realise the vision of a prosperous South Asia.

“Since its inception 24 years ago, it has made significant progress in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of South Asia," he said, speaking on the occasion of the completion of the 24 years of the founding of the SAARC.

Conveying good wishes to the people in the region, PM Nepal said, “Over the last 24 years, SAARC has continuously been providing a common forum for discussing pertinent regional issues, especially on socio-economic front.”

He said that South Asia is endowed with diversity both in terms of natural resources and socio-cultural lives of the peoples.

“Despite the geographical and cultural diversities, deep rooted unity and mutual cooperation continue to thrive,” he said, urging for the unity among the people and the governments in dealing with burgeoning contemporary problems ranging from global warming, terrorism, food security, to financial crisis.

“We have come a long way after traversing almost two and half-decades. Time is ripe to go beyond the rhetoric and stand firm to deliver the promises made,” he said, adding, “Breaking the legacy of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and diseases remain at the forefront of the battle for a prosperous South Asia.”