Kathmandu: The Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Dr. Fehmida Mirza has attended the Inaugural ceremony of the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) being held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Pakistani Minister was received at the airport by Nepal Secretary Sports.
The ten day programme, organized in different cities of Nepal was inaugurated by President of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari and was attended by dignitaries and participants from across the region.
Pakistan, a powerful member of the SAARC regional body, is participating in South Asian Games with a contingent of over 300 male and female participants in different sports. South Asian Games is one of the largest Sports events in the region which started in mid 1980s. Fourth and Ninth South Asian Games held 1989 and 2004 were hosted by in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Minister is on a three-day visit to Nepal during which she is expected to hold high-level interactions with the Nepali leadership before her return to Pakistan on Tuesday. These interactions would likely focus on enhancing cooperation in the areas of sports as well as youth interactions. The two countries will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations next year.
With not many high level visits taking place between the two countries, the current visit is being viewed as a step towards strengthening the bilateral relations especially at a time when Nepal is preparing to celebrate 2020 as the ‘Visit Nepal Year’.
With growing Nepalese interest in different games there is an enormous potential of cooperation in the field of Sports to enhance people-to-people contacts.
Based on a press note issued by the Pakistan embassy in Kathmandu dated December 2/19.