Kathmandu: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said that the relentless economic globalisation forced the South Asian nations to increase their pace towards the ultimate goal of a regional economic union.

“Standing together, we have better prospect of minimising the negative impacts of rapid globalisation,” Koirala told the inaugural session of a three-day meeting of the Citizens’ Commission for South Asia (CCSA) here this evening.

Koirala said that geography and shared cultural ethos provided a ready foundation for the South Asian togetherness, adding the South Asian commonality gave birth to the vision that led to the signing of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) fifteen years ago.

“The progress in the economic and trade sectors would make the region more elastic to the vagaries of political situation,” said Koirala. “The transition to a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) constitutes the cornerstone in the area of economic co-operation.”

Koirala also appreciated SAARC’s Ninth Summit’s declaration of intent regarding co-operation in social sector, particularly those regarding women and children.

However, it has not yet been possible to formulate concrete programme of action for poverty alleviation at the regional level, said Koirala. “Tasks before the Association are heavy, but not impossible.”

“There have been some gaps in the SAARC activities recently, but I feel confident that we will overcome this,” Koirala said.

People-to-people contacts have grown and continue to thrive, said Koirala. Regional forums of parliamentarians, judges, lawyers, other professionals, scholars and businessmen have been instrumental in educating the public not only about the benefits but also the imperatives of regional co-operation, he added.

Indeed, in the current South Asian situation the civil society has the capacity to inject the needed vitality in the Association, he said.

Former Indian Prime Minister and the Chairman of CCSA Inder Kumar Gujaral said that co-operation was ‘unavoidable’ in South Asia.

“The people-to-people relation in South Asia has thrived despite minor hitches at the political level,” he said.

Gujaral said that the meeting organised in collaboration with Coalition for Action on South Asian Co-operation would trigger off a new approach in South Asia.