The Governing Board of the SAARC Cultural Centre held its first meeting at Galadari Hotel in Colombo on 6-7 April 2009 with the participation of Members from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and officials of the SAARC Secretariat. 

The Meeting followed the ceremonial opening of the Office of the SAARC Cultural Centre in Colombo on 25 March by Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama.

The delegation of Sri Lanka to the Meeting made a presentation on the construction of the building in Nawimana, Matara which will be the eventual home of the SAARC Cultural Centre. The building is designed in line with traditional architecture in the region, especially the concept of ‘touching the ground lightly’ where construction is carried out in harmony with nature.  

The Director of the Centre, G.L.W. Samarasinghe, presented the programmes that the Centre plans to undertake in its first year of operation in 2010 in keeping with the mandate of the Centre which is to promote the distinctive arts of South Asia and the SAARC Agenda for Culture which was approved by the Foreign Secretaries of SAARC at their meeting in New Delhi in 2007.  

The activities approved by the Governing Board for implementation by the Centre in 2010 include a Symposium on Shared Heritage of Sculpture and Decorative Arts in South Asia and a Seminar on Rituals, Ethics and Societal Stability in the SAARC region.