The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) to foster collaboration between the two organisations in mutually agreed areas.

Saarc Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa and CIRDAP Director General Dr. Cecep Effendi signed on the MoU at the Saarc Secretariat in Kathmandu. The MoU replaces the erstwhile MoU signed in 2007 that expired in 2010.

A statement issued by Saarc Secretariat reads the MoU signed stands to open up a vista of opportunities for both the organisations to complement each other’s efforts in rural development and implement joint projects.

CIRDAP was established in 1979 in Dhaka to assist its membership in national action, promote regional cooperation and act as a servicing institution for the promotion of integrated rural development in the Asia Pacific region.

Six Saarc countries—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka—as well as Fiji, Indonesia, Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are the members of CIRDAP.