Saarc leaders for collective efforts to reap benefit for peoples
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani hold talks during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 17th Saarc Summit at Addu in the Maldives yesterday.Photo: AFP
The Saarc leaders yesterday emphasised that the region shows signs of promise but needs collective efforts to prosper and bring benefit for the peoples. Current Saarc Chair and President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed held high hope that the 21st century would be the century of Asia. “In this century, we will be more powerful. The future is ours to shape…It is the high time for the Saarc to shine”, he said, delivering his speech at the inaugural session of the 17th Saarc Summit at Equatorial Convention Centre here. Nasheed said, "The Saarc region is full of wealth...If we can ensure the harnessing of the wealth, we will be able to ensure the decent life for the peoples of this region”. “...we have to work together. Instability in one member state causes insecurity for us all. We can only make progress if we integrate our economy, ensure our financial system to be stable and foster a political climate that creates confidence.” Nasheed also underscored the importance of trade, transport, and economic integration, maritime security and combating the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean. On climate change, he said it remains the region's greatest long-term security threat. “Already climate change is causing havoc, threatening our development and prosperity.” He hoped that other Saarc nations could rise to the climate challenges and agree to invest a significant amount of their national incomes in clean technologies. Manmohan SinghIn his speech, the Indian premier reaffirmed his country's commitment towards Saarc. “I reaffirm that India will do whatever is within our capabilities to make Saarc an effective instrument to deliver on our vision of common peace, shared prosperity, and cooperation”. “There is a lot to be done but the political will is there. We have all come to believe that regional cooperation is good for each one of our countries”, he said. Singh noted, “The world economy is going to take time to recover. In the meantime, developing countries like ours will be squeezed for capital, investments and markets for our exports.” These countries should seek imaginative ways to create new avenues and sources of growth and investment in South Asia, he said. Singh said the Saarc member countries should work to create climate whereby the wealth generated by these countries is invested back into this region. “This will be the most ringing endorsement of our vision of a regional economy without boundaries”. The Indian prime minister said there are promising signs that South Asia is increasingly getting plugged into growth dynamic of Asia. “Despite all the difficulties, we have been able to maintain a respectable growth rate in the last few years”. Citing that his country has a special responsibility, Singh said India has issued a notification to reduce the sensitive list for the least developed countries (LDCs) under the SAFTA agreement from 480 tariff lines to 25 tariff lines. Zero basic customs duty access will be given for all items removed with immediate effect, he said. “I recognise that non-tariff barriers are an area of concern. India is committed to the idea of free and balanced growth trade in South Asia”. Singh said all Saarc countries could be benefitted from respective comparative advantages including hydropower and natural resources endorsements, possibilities from the earnings from transit, marine resources, scientific and technological base and above all young population, which will drive consumption and investment in the years ahead. He also emphasised expediting the finalisation of the Saarc Agreement on Investment. Terming the theme of this year's Saarc Summit, "Building Bridges", a time-befitting one, he said importance should be given on rail, air, and motor vehicle movement among the Saarc countries. Singh also said there should be importance given on the telecommunication linkages to reduce call rates and telecommunication tariffs and interconnection termination charges. “We should encourage greater broadcasting, television and film exchanges among our countries. It is time that we overcome the information deficit among the Saarc countries. We should encourage our people to know more about each other”. Yusuf Raza Gilani
Addressing the inaugural session, Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said the gap between the promise of Saarc and reality of its accomplishments needs to be bridged. “We should build on convergences, minimise divergences and most of all seek to augment complementarities for the greater good of the peoples of this region”. Gilani said South Asia has all the necessary ingredients in terms of human and natural resources to work the economic miracle of this century. Welcoming the establishment of Saarc Development Fund, the Pakistan premier stressed closer cooperation in the area of finance and banking. He also suggested that Saarc consider establishment of a Saarc Science Foundation and Saarc Nanotechnology Forum. “We should also reinforce the regional Biotechnology Forum”. Underscoring the need for energy availability, Gilani said the economic development of South Asia is closely linked to the availability of energy at affordable prices. “With abundant alternate energy resources available region-wide, we need to collectively focus on harnessing indigenous energy production potential such as solar, wind, bio and hydel. We should also consider arrangements for trans-regional oil and gas pipelines”.
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