Foreign ministers of Saarc countries are set to discuss strengthening the mechanisms and the secretariat of the regional body at a meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The new Saarc secretary general is also likely to be formally endorsed in the meeting, said a diplomat.
The Maldives, the current chair, will host the meeting on February 20 after foreign secretary-level meetings on February 18-19.
“The tenure of the current secretary general, Ahmed Saleem, will expire on February 28 and he will be replaced by former Nepali foreign secretary Arjun Bahadur Thapa,” the diplomat said.
Nepal is likely to announce the date of the 18th summit at the meeting, which will also discuss making the Saarc observers more involved in the mechanism of the regional body, the diplomat said.
