UN General Assembly
1985

Nepal believes that increased co-operation among developing countries is an essential ingredient of international co-operation and development. The prolonged crisis in the international economic order has had a serious impact on the efforts of the countries of the South Asian Region to accelerate the pace of their development. The present trend threatens us with the prospect of a rapid increase in the number of people living in absolute poverty. The complexity and scope of the problems facing South Asia have led us to envisage and gradually implement a program of South Asian regional co-operation. The progress achieved thus far has made us optimistic about the viability of regional co-operation not only as an exercise in the direction of collective self-reliance but also as a means of meaningfully promoting mutual understanding, friendship and goodwill among the seven participating countries of South Asia.