From the Director s Desk

From the Director s Desk January March 2014 The SAARC Documentation Centre has completed 20 years of its service to the SAARC Region. In its eventful 20 years, the Centre has emerged as a premier centre that is particularly well known for its HRD programmes. The SDC Library has been attracting readers with the library being packed to capacity during the working hours. Beginning this issue, we shall be giving the monthly count on the number of visitors. The SDC Online Course on Information Retrieval was successfully conducted twenty three participants who successfully completed the course were given certificates. Deeksha Bist 1st Short Term Training Programme The first short Term training programme on Information Technology for Information Management will commence from 7 th April 9 th May 2014. Two participants from each Member State i.e Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be attending this training programme. Online Course on Information Retrieval SDC in collaboration with NISCAIR launched the online course on Information Retrieval on 21st August 2013. The course was successfully conducted from October - December 2013. Twenty three participants completed the course. SDC Alumni Database in SAARC Region Human resource development is one of the important activities of the Centre. The Centre conducts short term and attachment training programmes in information technology applications for library/documentation/information professionals from the Member States. The Centre also offers information services for research scholars in the Member States. So far, we have trained 734 participants in the field of Library, Administration/Finance & IT professionals till date from the Member States. A database of the participants who have undergone trainings at SDC has been created. The information of the participants can be accessed from SDC website www.sdc.gov.in January March 2014 1

Two- day SAARC Summit in New Delhi Union commerce ministers of the SAARC countries shared the stage on the occasion of the two-day SAARC economic summit and business leaders conclave in New Delhi on Thursday 16-17th January 2014. India's Union commerce minister Anand Sharma was also present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, he emphasised towards regional integration in SAARC and assured India s commitment to its neighbours in the economic growth and development. The summit, which is being organised by SAARC & FICCI in collaboration with ministry of commerce, will be addressed by Foreign Secretary of India Sujatha Singh, commerce secretary SR Rao and High Commissioners of SAARC countries. Over 500 delegates attended the event. Secretary-General calls on the Prime Minister of Nepal H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC, paid a farewell call on Rt. Hon. Sushil Koirala, Prime Minister of Nepal at the latter s office (17 th March 2014). During the meeting, the Secretary-General congratulated the Prime Minister on his appointment which he said reflected the trust and confidence that the people of Nepal reposed in him. The Secretary-General also expressed the hope that under the sagacious leadership of the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, Nepal will usher in an era of peace, stability and prosperity. The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister complimented the Secretary-General for the exemplary leadership that he provided to the Secretariat since March 2012. He also congratulated the Secretary-General on the successful convening of the Inter-Summit Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers in the Maldives on 20 February 2014. The Council s Session was preceded by the preparatory Sessions of the Programming Committee and the Standing Committee. Referring to the recently concluded Session of the Council, the Secretary-General highlighted some of the important decisions taken by it with regard to the strengthening of SAARC, including its Secretariat, Regional Centres and Specialized Bodies. The Secretary-General also expressed gratitude to Nepal for its readiness to host the Eighteenth SAARC Summit sometime in November 2014. In concluding his remarks, the Secretary-General appreciated the Government of Nepal for its unwavering commitment to the SAARC process and for its continued support to the Secretariat since its establishment in January 1987. Mr. Dhan Bahadur Oli, Director, was present at the meeting. Secretary-General calls on the Foreign Secretary of Nepal H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC, paid a farewell call on 9 th February 2014 for H. E. Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Foreign Secretary of Nepal. At the start of the meeting, the Secretary-General thanked the Foreign Secretary for finding time to receive him. The Secretary-General also congratulated the Foreign Secretary on his new and important assignment. January March 2014 2

In his briefing, the Secretary-General acknowledged that the establishment of the Association has largely contributed to the maintenance of peace in the region, besides opening up ample vistas for effective regional cooperation. He stated that there is much that SAARC could achieve for the common good of the people in the region. He further said that in order to make SAARC a robust organization, the SAARC Secretariat has recently conducted a comprehensive Study to strengthen its mechanisms, including the Secretariat, Regional Centres and Specialized Bodies of SAARC. In his remarks, the Foreign Secretary emphasized upon the need to develop and implement sub-regional and regional projects that bring about tangible benefits for the people of South Asia. He laid emphasis on strengthening people-to-people contacts through people-centric programs and projects. He also stressed on the need to strengthen the SAARC Secretariat to meet the ever-increasing ambit of regional cooperation under the auspices of the Association. The Secretary-General thanked the Foreign Secretary for the support and cooperation extended to him and the Secretariat by the Government of Nepal as the host. The Foreign Secretary complimented the Secretary-General for the exemplary leadership he provided to the Secretariat in taking forward the process of regional cooperation. The 45th Session of the SAARC Programming Committee The 45th Session of the SAARC Programming Committee was held on 17 February 2014 in the Bandos Island Resort, the Maldives. H.E. Mr. Hassan Shifau, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Republic of Maldives and Chair for the Meeting opened the Session by welcoming the delegates from all Member States and SAARC Secretariat. In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC updated the Committee on the implementation of the decisions taken at the Forty-fourth Session of the Programming Committee (SAARC Secretariat, 9-11 December 2013). The Programming Committee deliberated on a number of issues of cooperation and financial and administrative matters of SAARC. Delegations from all the SAARC Members attended the Meeting. January March 2014 3

35th Session of the Council of Foreign/External Affairs Ministers of SAARC Member States The Thirty-Fifth Session of the SAARC Ministers of Foreign/External Affairs was held in the Maldives on 20th February 2014. The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives. This was preceded by Fortieth Session of the Standing Committee, 6th Special Session of the Standing Committee and Forty-fifth Session of the Programming Committee during 17-19 February, 2014, with participation from all SAARC Member States. The Foreign/External Affairs Ministers of SAARC Member States had last met in Addu City, Maldives in November, 2011.During these meetings, the whole gamut of issues related to co-operation amongst Member States of SAARC were discussed, including strengthening of SAARC Mechanism. The Council was unanimous in applauding the out-going Secretary- General, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, for his stewardship in taking the SAARC process forward. The Council also approved the appointment of Mr. Arjun Bahadur Thapa, former Foreign Secretary, Government of Nepal, as the new Secretary-General of SAARC. H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem demits office on 28th February, 2014. During the meeting, Nepal also announced hosting the Eighteenth Summit of Heads of SAARC Member States sometime in November, 2014. Training Course on Online Tutoring and Monitoring "The Centre for Educational Technology and Media (CETMe), of The Open University of Sri Lanka will be conducting a six weeks fully on line training course on Online Tutoring and Mentoring starting from 14 March 2014. The course is for the academic members and professionals who would like to teach online. The course content and the overview are given in the attached brochure. Those who are interested please send an email to Dr Gayathri Jayatilleke at onlinetutoring@gmail.com to get more details and the application form." Seventh Review Meeting on SAARC Gender Info Base The seventh review meeting on SAARC Gender Info Base will be going to held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 25th 26th March 2014. SDC s responsible in hosting the SGIB online component and providing technical support. January March 2014 4

SDC Library Visitors Statistics SDC Library The visitors of SDC Library are increasing day by day. The users are satisfied with the resources and facilities of the library. The monthly visitors statistics is given below: January: February: March: 151 Visitors 209 Visitors 289 visitors New Subscription of Journals and Magazines 1. Kurukshetra 2. Yojana 3. Chronicle 4. Competition Success Collection development Total 132 new books were added to SDC Library collection till April 2014. These books are on the SAARC region. The bibliographical details of those books are accessible via Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) available on SDC website. January March 2014 5