The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal in collaboration with Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the “Seminar on Enhancing Regional Integration and Cooperation in South Asia,” at Hotel Crowne Imperial in Kathmandu on Tuesday. 

The seminar brought together policy makers, experts, and relevant stakeholders to engage in discussions on promoting regional integration and cooperation in South Asia. 

During the event, discussion was held to identify institutional, political, and economic challenges in the process of regional cooperation in South Asia, and share diverse perspectives from participating experts on these issues. 

The program was divided into two sessions. 

Session I overviewed the current state of regional integration in South Asia while Session II focused on policy recommendations for expanding regional integration in South Asia including cooperation with middle powers.

The seminar further discussed the roles and potential contributions of external partners, including the Republic of Korea, in supporting the strengthening of regional cooperation in South Asia through trade, investment, and development cooperation.

The Republic of Korea has officially participated as an observer country in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) since 2006.

Foreign Secretary, Amrit Bahadur Rai, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nepal, Park Taeyoung and Director (Economic, Trade and Finance) of SAARC on the behalf of the Secretary General delivered remarks at the seminar. 

Scholars  from NIICE, IIDS, TU, KU and SAARC presented papers  on different pillars of regional engagement of South Asian cooperation. 

Around 100 participants including government officials, diplomatic missions, media personnel and general public attended the program.