Former Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan, Dasho Sonam Topgay, could become the 16th Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a body which has not seen a summit since the time the 2016 summit was called off following India's withdrawal from the event after the Uri terror attack.
According to reports, Topgay's name has been proposed by Bhutan, as under the alphabetical order that SAARC follows, it is Bhutan's turn to nominate the next Secretary-General of the regional body, which consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The current Secretary General, Bangladesh's Gholam Sarwar's term ends in October, and the regional platform has been largely rendered non-functional as it deals with a political stalemate. India has blamed Pakistan for stymying SAARC because of Pakistan's terrorist activities.
For Sonam Topgay to become Secretary-General of SAARC, all seven other member states will have to agree with Bhutan's nomination. If that happens, the path will be clear for Topgay to assume office. The 16th Secretary General is likely to be decided at the SAARC meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, which will be held in the United States in September.
India views the SAARC as largely dormant due to persistent cross-border terrorism and political obstacles from Pakistan.
India has said that it favours strong regional cooperation and has been working towards it for several decades now and that people know which country and which activities are "stymying" the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Responding to queries during a regular media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said any cooperation needs goodwill.
"When it comes to regional cooperation, India favours strong regional cooperation and has been working towards it for several decades now. Everyone in South Asia is aware of which country and what activities are actually stymying SAARC... After all, cooperation does require goodwill," Jaiswal said.
Topgay is a Bhutanese civil servant with 38 years of experience in government, and he was trained at the Lal Bahadur Shashtri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie. A seasoned administrator, he held several high-level posts in Bhutan, including Home Secretary, Director-General of the Department of Law and Order and several other top positions, and ended his term as Chief Election Commissioner in Bhutan in 2025.
SAARC has held no high-level meeting above the programming committee, which is a joint-secretary-level meet, since 2020, effectively rendering it non-functional.
Recently there have been calls from the Maldives and Bangladesh for a revival of the SAARC.
Bangladesh called for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to "work hand-in-hand" with the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) during the meeting of BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs in New Delhi last month.
