SAARC to have first woman Secretary-General

SAARC will get its first woman Secretary-General in its silver jubilee year — the former Maldivian Attorney-General, Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, is all set to succeed Indian diplomat Sheel Kant Sharma, who will complete his tenure of three years by the end of February. Maldives will host the next SAARC summit in November this year. Diplomatic sources here said that barring a major hitch, Ms. Saeed is all set to take over at a time when SAARC is focussed on women's empowerment and is taking steps to check their exploitation. Two SAARC projects — Women's Empowerment and Maternal Healthcare — have also got off the ground with encouraging results.