Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai have arrived to attend the 18th Saarc summit in Kathmandu . Rajapaksa landed at around 10:15, 45 minutes behind 9:30 schedule, on a Sri Lankan Airlines aircraft while Ghani arrived at around 11 am on a Kam Airlines Boeing 767.
Rajapaksa was welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam at TIA. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning left for Kathmandu, Nepal, to attend the 18th SAARC Summit, President's Office said in a release. The 18th Summit of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) is being held from Nov. 25-27 in Kathmandu. Nepal is hosting the summit for the third time. The President will attend the opening session of the Summit on Wednesday (Nov. 26) and the retreat on Thursday.
