SAARC Chamber president leads high-level team to 10 Downing Street

KATHMANDU/LONDON: A high-level delegation of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI), led by its President Chandi Raj Dhakal, visited 10 Downing Street, London, and held a high-level meeting with Rt. Hon. Pat McFadden, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and a key member of the Prime Minister’s team.

The visit marks a historic milestone for SAARC CCI, representing the first-ever delegation of the SAARC Chamber, led by its President, to visit the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street since the Chamber’s establishment in 1992. The landmark engagement underscores the growing international outreach of SAARC CCI and its efforts to strengthen institutional and economic linkages between South Asia, the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth.

During the meeting, the SAARC CCI delegation presented a strategic SAARC–Commonwealth Policy Report, jointly developed with the Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network (CBWN). The report sets out a forward-looking framework centred on Connectivity, Commerce and Creativity (3Cs), with recommendations aimed at strengthening trade and investment linkages, enhancing regional connectivity, promoting youth and women’s economic participation, mobilising diaspora investment, and unlocking greater economic cooperation between South Asia, the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth.

The policy report proposes a range of initiatives to enhance South Asia’s integration into global and Commonwealth markets. Among its key recommendations is the establishment of a SAARC Digital Single Window to facilitate trade and services, alongside a regional value-chain mapping initiative designed to identify opportunities for greater intraregional trade and regional production networks.

President Chandi Raj Dhakal emphasised the importance of strengthening economic partnerships that can create practical opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, women and young people across the region.

The delegation comprised Chandi Raj Dhakal, President, SAARC CCI; Dr Rohitha Silva, Senior Vice President, SAARC CCI and President, FCCISL, Dr Mariyam Shakeela, Vice President, SAARC CCI (Maldives); Zulfiqar Ali Butt, Secretary General, SAARC CCI; and Arif Zaman, Advisor to SAARC CCI in the EU and Executive Director of the Commonwealth Women Business Network.

The Downing Street engagement represents an important step in strengthening dialogue between South Asia’s private sector, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, with a shared focus on connectivity, commerce, investment, innovation and inclusive economic growth.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026