Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that Nepal was willing to play the role of a facilitataor to hold the 19th SAARC summit in Pakistan.

During a meeting with former prime minister of Pakistan Yusuf Raza Gilani in Kathmandu on Sunday, Oli said that Nepal, as the current chair of SAARC, was ready lend necessary support to the Pakistani government to host the regional gathering of the eight South Asian countries.

The previous SAARC summit was held in Kathmandu in 2014. Its next iteration is being held in Pakistan, but the dates have not been fixed owing to the dispute between the governments of India and Pakistan. 

Gilani told Prime Minister Oli that the government and the people of Pakistan were ready to host the SAARC summit, according to Rajan Bhattarai, foreign adviser to the prime minister.

Meanwhile, former president of Colombia Andres Pastrana also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Oli on Sunday. Pastrana told Oli that he was impressed by the success of Nepal’s peace process and the latter’s vision of development and prosperity.

They also discussed trade and investment and the expansion of diplomatic relations between the two countries.