Statement by Hon'ble Narendra Bikram Shah, Foreign Minister, at a seminar on the "Follow up of the 11th SAARC Summit"


Excellencies,
Distinguished participants
Ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to begin by expressing my sincere thanks to the Institute of Foreign Affairs for inviting me to this seminar, which has brought together prominent personalities for a free and frank exchange of views and thoughts on a contemporary theme. The topic for discussions is particularly timely, as Nepal holds the Chairmanship of SAARC, at the moment.

We note with some measure of satisfaction that SAARC has grown from a concept to a regional reality over a span of a few years. Promotion of the welfare of the people of South Asia through economic growth, social progress and cultural development, enhancement of active collaboration and mutual assistance in economic, social and cultural and technical fields and the promotion of mutual trust and understanding through cooperation constitute the main objectives of SAARC. These objectives are timeless and of vital significance to the peace, prosperity and happiness of the people of our region. Guided by these goals, SAARC has created a distinct regional identity and enhanced interactions at the government and civil society levels over the years. SAARC has also begun to evolve common positions on many of the international issues that are of importance to the region. These are solid foundations upon which we can build stronger edifices of regional cooperation. This is no small achievement given the background and undercurrents of the region. We accept, however that in today's fast globalising world, this is not enough. Our potentials stand in visible, palpable and sharp contrast to the actual level of cooperation. The crying need therefore is further intensification of our efforts to make SAARC a more vibrant and purposeful association for regional cooperation.

South Asia possesses a number of strengths: abundance of natural and human resources, great climatic varieties, similar social and economic milieu, a sense of belonging with each other and similarity in approach to the evolving international economic regime - a good enough foundation for the regional synergy for the betterment of the lives of the people in the region. Various studies have made about the benefits of cooperation as well as the cost of non-cooperation in South Asia. We must look beyond the immediate present and set for ourselves a far-reaching vision to uplift the status of the people. Raising the quality of life of the common people should be the overriding concern for all of us. It was with this in mind that the 11th SAARC Summit expressed its resolve to make our activities more result oriented, cohesive and forward-looking. The focus of the Summit was poverty alleviation. The Kathmandu Sumit also reiterated the commitment of the member countries to confronting the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and intensifying cooperation to strengthen the existing mechanisms to deal with the changing nature and spread of terrorism. For the first time, SAARC came out with a long-term vision of progressively moving towards the ultimate goal of an economic union. The meeting of the Commerce secretaries gave further impetus to the economic and commercial cooperation in the region. Some steps have been taken recently to accelerate SAPTA and SAFTA. On the social front, we have signed two important conventions expressing our commitment to uplifting the status of women and children. Progress in these areas depends largely on how we deal with these issues in the days ahead. Effective implementation of SAARC decisions is the test of our commitment to and faith to the Association.

Many of the activities that were emphasized by he 11th Summit have been held since then. Ministerial meetings on poverty alleviation, environment, information and agriculture were held in different SAARC capitals. The mid-summit meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers further stressed the need to enhance the level of activities to promote regional cooperation. We are confident that the momentum generated by the 11th summit in Kathmandu will be sustained and accelerated by the 12th Summit to be held in Islamabad. It has been recently announced that the 12th summit has been postponed for the time being. We are hopeful that this postponement is of a temporary nature. We believe that the new dates for the 12th summit will be worked out as early as possible. South Asia needs to be on the fast track of regional cooperation, because there is no alterative in sight.

Against these background, I am glad that this seminar is looking closely at various aspects of SAARC, and I look forward to your informed views and valuable suggestions aimed at strengthening the SAARC process. You have my every good wish.

Thank You!