18th SAARC Summit ends with Kathmandu declaration

The 18th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ended with the adoption of 36-point Kathmandu Declaration.
Chair of the 18th SAARC Summit and Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala announced the closing of the Summit at the City Hall in Kathmandu this evening.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the closing session with other heads of state or government of the member countries.
Koirala also declared that the 19th SAARC summit would be held in Islamabad in 2016.
The 18th SAARC Summit inked the landmark SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation (Electricity) aimed at trading in electricity from one country to another and establishment of trans-boundary power grids.
The foreign ministers of the eight countries signed the deal at the closing session of the Summit.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay, Indian PM Narendra Modi, Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif and Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala witnessed the signing at the City Hall.
After the signing ceremony, Sushil Koirala said the transport ministers of the SAARC countries would sit within three months to finalize the SAARC Agreement on Motor Vehicle and the SAARC Agreement on Railway Service.
After the concluding speech of SAARC Chairperson Sushil Koirala, Nawaz Sharif gave vote of thanks for selecting Pakistan as the venue of the next SAARC summit.
Later, the eight South Asian leaders joined a photo session.