Kathmandu. Dr. Shrestha has been elected as the President of the JICA Alumni Association Forum of Shark Countries (JAFS). Ram Chandra Bhusal has been elected.

He was speaking at a three-day international seminar on ‘Japan’s contribution to the social and economic development of South Asia’ held in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Bhusal was elected unopposed. Dr. Bhusal is the current president of Nepal JICA Alumni Association (JAAN). He was the General Secretary of JAFS from 2017 until now.

On the occasion, Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akiko Isomata said that JAFS, an umbrella organization of the SAARC region, has been playing an important role in the social and economic development of Japan by maintaining cordial relations between the countries of the SAARC region.

JICA Sri Lanka Chief Kenji Kuronuma said that social and economic development is a priority for all countries in today’s world.

He said that the network, coordination and unity among the members of JAFS in different countries will be important as international cooperation and goodwill will be required for this.

President of JAFS, Dr. “Japan has been providing selfless, reliable and sustainable support to the SAARC region and we should learn honesty, accountability, discipline, punctuality and hard work from Japan,” he said.