Outgoing Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Arjun Bahadur Thapa called on foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali today at the latter`s office here today. During the call on, the foreign minister congratulated the secretary general on successful completion of his tenure and appreciated his valuable contribution to the SAARC. Ali stated that as a founding member of the process, Bangladesh always attaches high importance to the ethos of SAARC and will continue to play a constructive role in fostering regional cooperation for betterment of the millions of people of this region. The outgoing secretary general is on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh. Later, he also called on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque.Thapa, former foreign secretary of Nepal, is the 12th Secretary General of SAARC and will complete his term on February 28 in 2017.