KATHMANDU, June 12: Nepal's ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay on Monday addressed the second convocation ceremony of the South Asian University (SAU) held in New Delhi.
Speaking to the gathering of the university's faculties, students and invited guests as the SAU Visitor's Nominee in New Delhi, Ambassador Upadhyay stated that the South Asian University has been built upon the pedestal of the common South Asian heritage of wisdom and education nurtured in the region since time immemorial. He also stated that the university served as a mark of shared aspiration for deeper regional cooperation and connectivity in South Asia.
According to a press statement issued by Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi, Ambassador Upadhyay congratulated the fresh graduates of the university for successfully completing the degree from SAU. “The years you spent here at this university, the years you exchanged and refined your ideas, the years you explored knowledge and widened your wisdom, these years must have been the best ones in your life,” the statement quoted Upadhyay as saying.
Ambassador Upadhyay called upon the graduating students to contribute to the process of South Asia's development as well as to carry forth the message of peace, harmony and fraternity that have been the ethos of South Asia.
“Be it endowment of natural resources or be it the human resources, our region has abundance of enabling factors for development and prosperity,” he further said while urging the graduates to help overcome poverty and underdevelopment facing the region.
Ambassador Upadhyay conferred degrees to 185 students graduating in various faculties of the university this year including 16 Nepali students.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar, SAARC Secretary General Amjad Hussain B Sial, and other dignitaries were among those addressing the function. SAU President Dr Kavita had made a presentation on various programs undertaken by the university and its future plans.