Why in News?

• Nepal has invited the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan along with several other heads of government for the Sagarmatha Sambaad.

About Sagarmatha Sambaad:

• Sagarmatha Sambaad is an initiative of the Government of Nepal which is a multi-stakeholder, permanent global dialogue forum.
• The dialogue aims to deliberate on the most prominent issues of global, regional and national significance.
• Headquarters  – Kathmandu, Nepal.
• It is slated to be held biennially, with the first summit at Kathmandu in April, 2020 with the theme ‘Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity’.
•  The Sambaad (dialogue) is named after the world’s tallest mountain Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) which is also a symbol of friendship and is meant to promote the notions of the common good and collective well-being of Humanity.

“Sagarmatha Sambaad” – An Informal SAARC Summit:

• Nepal has invited many global leaders for the event along with leaders belonging to all SAARC member countries (including India and Pakistan).
• Thus, it provides an opportunity to break the ice between India and Pakistan. It also gives a chance to revive the SAARC forum, which has been unable to meet formally during the last four years because of the negative India-Pakistan relations.
• Hence Nepal is optimistic that this could act as an alternative way to revive the regional formation (SAARC), since this initiative helps to discuss measures informally in order to develop cooperation between the Member Countries.