Draft Saarc Charter of Democracy approved
The Saarc Standing Committee yesterday approved the draft of the Saarc Charter of Democracy and recommended its adoption by the Council of Ministers of the eight-nation regional association.
The main theme of the charter is to encourage flourishing of democratic practice and governance and cooperation among the member states to continue democracy, and discourage takeover of power undemocratic elements.
The approval was given on the concluding day of the two-day meeting by the 38th session of the Saarc Standing Committee, comprised of foreign secretaries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes led the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mooted the idea to formulate a Charter of Democracy in the 16th Saarc Summit.
The draft of the charter was prepared at an inter-governmental meeting in Dhaka in September 2010, while the foreign secretaries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka approved it.
Diplomatic sources said the Council of Ministers comprised of the Saarc foreign ministers will examine the charter and approve, and it will then be placed in the 17th Saarc Summit scheduled for November in the Maldives for final approval.
“South Asia today is witnessing vibrant democracies at work. The formulation of the Saarc Democracy Charter was an important achievement,” said Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir at the standing committee meeting. The charter is an initiative of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and is being piloted at a time when all Saarc members happen to be democracies, he added. The standing committee meeting recommended full operationalisation of the South Asian University and establishment of the South Asia Forum. It also agreed that the Saarc Development Fund would focus more on implementation of demand-driven activities.
Mijarul Quayes in his statement emphasized increasing intra-regional trade and called for early finalisation of the remaining work under SAFTA and the Saarc Agreement on Trade in Services. Both these ideas were mooted by Bangladesh.
He placed stress on operationalisation of the food bank, finalisation of agreement on Seed Bank, enhanced connectivity and people-to-people contact and reviewing of the Saarc Visa Exemption Scheme for making it meaningful.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni left here for Thimphu yesterday to attend the two-day meeting of the Saarc Council of Ministers, which will examine and adopt the charter.
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