Rodrigo takes over as SAARC Secy General today

KATHMANDU, Jan 1: Nihal Rodrigo, a Sri Lankan diplomat, will take over as chief of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), diplomats said today, reports Reuters.

Naeem U Hasan, the outgoing secretary general of the seven-nation regional forum, said Rodrigo's three-year mandate as the association's executive head started on January 1.

"He will be arriving tomorrow," Hasan said.

SAARC - which groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - was launched in 1985 to promote the economic development of member states.

The secretary-general, based in Kathmandu, rotates alphabetically among members every three years.

Hasan, a Pakistani diplomat, took over in 1996.