Rajnath Singh to attend SAARC Home Ministers' meet in Nepal

Rajnath SinghNew Delhi : Home Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Nepal on September 18 and 19 to attend the SAARC Home Ministers' conference, during which he is likely to have a separate meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

During the visit, apart from attending the SAARC Home/ Interior Ministers' meet, Singh will have bilateral meetings with his counterparts of other SAARC member countries.

The Home Minister is also likely to have a separate meeting with Nepal Deputy Prime Minister, who is also country's Home Minister, Bamdev Gautam, besides others on the sidelines of the SAARC convention, official sources said.

Singh will be accompanied by Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami and several other senior officers of the Home Ministry.

In the spirit of 17th SAARC Summit held in Male, Maldives, member States had declared their commitment to rooting out terrorism, taking into account its linkages with illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms and to make coordinated and concerted efforts to combat terrorism.

The forthcoming meeting will focus on these issues.

The three-tier meeting will begin at the joint secretary-level and then move on to secretary and home minister-level meetings.

The meeting will also focus on strengthening networking among police authorities of SAARC member countries and also enhance information sharing among law enforcement agencies. PTI