Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is going to leave for New Delhi on April 1 to attend the 14th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala (File photo)

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala (File photo)
The SAARC Summit is scheduled for April 3-4. PM Koirala will reach New Delhi two days earlier. Koirala’s foreign policy advisor Dr. Suresh Raj Chalise is quoted by Kantipur daily as saying that he will leave for the summit two days earlier owing to his health conditions.

Koirala will be leaving for New Delhi next week even as efforts to form interim government back home have not yet delivered fruits. At present, Koirala is locked in discussions with other party colleagues over the formation of interim cabinet including Maoist representatives.

During this year’s SAARC Summit, the United States, China, Japan, European Union and South Korea are taking part, for the first time, as observers. Senior officials of these countries including foreign ministers will attend the summit.

Meanwhile, ahead of the 14th Summit in New Delhi, civil society organisations held People’s SAARC conference in Kathmandu, which ended on Sunday by issuing 25-point Kathmandu Declaration.

The Declaration has appealed to all to fight poverty, discrimination, injustice and scourge of globalisation. It has called on to ensure full-fledged democracies, human rights, reduce military expenditures and end nuclear proliferations in the region, among others.