Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, the outgoing chair of SAARC, officially handed over the chairmanship of 12th SAARC Summit to Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Jafarullah Khan Jamali amid the inaugural function of the Summit in Islamabad Sunday.

“His Excellency Mir Jafarullah Khan Jamali is hereby elected the chairman of 12th SAARC Summit,” PM Thapa announced addressing the top function of seven South Asian nations.

Pakistani PM Jamali is now chairing the inaugural session of the Summit being held in Jinnah Convention Centre of the Pak capital.

Jamali, chairing the function, lauded Nepal’s role as the chairman of SAARC “in the last two difficult years of uncertainty.”

All heads of the state are scheduled to address the inaugural function this afternoon.

Nepal Television in collaboration with Pakistan Television is live telecasting the event.