The two day meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation's cabinet secretaries concluded in New Delhi on Friday. It deliberated on issues of common concern such as administrative reforms, rural development, performance management and e-governance.
The meeting was attended by all the cabinet secretaries from the SAARC member states. It was noted that SAARC is transforming into an 'implementation body' and the need to strengthen administrative and delivery mechanisms was emphasized. The cabinet secretaries deliberated upon areas where significant innovations have been tried in various member states to benefit their citizens. Member states also discussed rural development programmes in their own countries and the impact made by them.
The challenges of performance management & evaluation were also discussed. Members also deliberated on the use of e-governance for improving service delivery for its citizens and agreed that there is scope for collaboration in these areas.
The meeting agreed on the following :
(i) Member States would share information on best practices in the field of administrative reforms by preparing a compendium and hosting the best practices on websites of