The inaugural session of the 12th SAARC Summit ended in Islamabad today (Sunday), with the signing of the SAARC Social Charter by the heads of all member nations of the regional grouping.
Suppressing terrorism, increasing intra-SAARC trade and excluding political issues from the economic issues were some of the key features of the inaugural speeches delivered by the seven state heads.
“The nations of South Asia should make SAARC a living and dynamic organisation,” Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, President of Sri Lanka said, addressing the function at Jinnah Convention Centre of the Pak capital. “We, South Asia, face the danger of marginalization in the global economy,” she said.
According to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begam Khaleda Zia, the concerns of LDCs, or Least Developed Countries should be addressed first while implementing the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement). “The South Asian neighbours can best co-operate in the field of energy,” she said.
Bhutanese PM Gigme Y. Thinley said a common approach is needed to suppress terrorism in the region. Protecting biodiversity and natural beauty of the region should be another area of focus in the region, according to Thinley.
Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee pointed out the need to adopt a collective approach to remove mutual suspicion and enmity. “United we stand,” he said urging all to form a single South Asian identity in the world.
President of Maldives M.A. Gayoom stressed the need to stop environmental degradation in the region. He said, “All South Asian countries need to sign the Kyoto Protocol.”
Speaking as the immediate past chairman of SAARC, PM Surya Bahadur Thapa laid emphasis on a “holistic and sustained” approach to fight poverty in the region. PM Thapa said terrorism is a major problem of the region. “We member nations need to act resolutely to make the region free of terrorism.”
Pakistani PM Mir Jafarullah Khan Jamali, who is the current chair of SAARC now, also underlined the need to make anti-terrorism mechanism strong in the region. “Our goal is to bring an improvement in people’s living standard in the whole region,” Jamali said.
SAARC Secretary General, Q.A.M.A. Rahim, was of the view that SAARC still has to go a long way. “The major blockade is that we think regionally but act nationally.” “Our achievements in the past 18 years are modest, but we are still optimistic about the future of SAARC and this whole region,” he said.
The Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is also scheduled to endorse SAFTA treaty, the main highlight of the Summit.
The next meeting of the head of the seven states will be held on Tuesday, as announced by Pakistani PM Jamali in the inaugural session of the Summit.