Nepal Urges Member Nations to Not Boycott the 19th SAARC Summit

Under the SAARC charter, the summit is automatically postponed or cancelled even if one member skips the event.

Nepal PM Khadga Prasad Oli (5th R), Sushma Swaraj (4th Left) with foreign ministers of SAARC countries at 37th session of the Council of Ministers of the SAARC in Pokhara. (Photo: IANS)

Nepal on Wednesday "strongly urged" that a conducive environment should be created to ensure participation of all members in the next SAARC Summit in Pakistan, after four countries of the regional grouping, including India, pulled out of the summit indirectly blaming Islamabad.

Nepal said it "has received communications" from four member-states - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India - in which they conveyed their inability to participate in the 19th SAARC summit on 9-10 November stating that the current regional environment is "not conducive" for the successful holding of the Summit.

“We have taken this development seriously,” Nepal said in a statment posted on its Foreign Ministry’s website.

Also Read: DeQoded: India, Afghan, Bhutan & B’desh Will Skip SAARC? So What?

MEA announced that PM Modi will be skipping the SAARC summit. (Photo: Reuters)

Also Read: Pakistan Warns India of Losses If It Withdraws From SAARC Summit

Nepal “strongly urges that a conducive environment be created soon to ensure the participation of all member states in the 19th SAARC summit in line with the spirit of the SAARC Charter,” the statment said.

Under the SAARC charter, the summit is automatically postponed or cancelled even if one member country skips the event.

Also Read: No SAARC Meet As India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan Opt Out

The four countries have pulled out of the summit, indirectly blaming Pakistan for “creating an environment which is not right for the successful holding” of the meet.

That development came after tensions ran high between India and Pakistan after militants stormed an Indian Army base in Uri on 18 September, killing 18 soldiers. The militants belonged to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group.

Founded in 1985, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) currently has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as its members.

Also Read: Modi to Skip SAARC Summit in Pak Under Current Circumstances: MEA