The 33rd Saarc Council of Ministers meeting has unanimously endorsed former Maldivian attorney general Aishath Dhiyana Saeed as the first ever female secretary general of the eight-nation regional body.
Dhiyana would become the first female and the youngest secretary general of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) when she takes office on March 1, replacing the incumbent Indian diplomat Sheel Kant Sharma, diplomatic sources said.
She is the second Maldivian to assume the post after Ibrahim Hussein Zakee, who served from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1993.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni led the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting held in Thimphu on February 8-9. It was preceded by meetings of Saarc Programming Committee and Saarc Standing Committee.
The Council of Ministers is comprised of foreign ministers of Saarc countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Seven members founded Saarc in December, 1985 and made way for Afghanistan in 2007.
Maldives will host the 17th Saarc Summit sometime between November and December this year.
