The second meeting of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) cabinet secretaries concluded in the capital Sunday giving a serious focus on coordinated efforts to alleviate poverty in South Asia.
The two-day meeting also discussed a number of issues like coordinated efforts for poverty alleviation in the region, use of ICT (information and communication technology) for upgradation of civic amenities, putting e-governance in place, PPP (public-private partnership) for infrastructure development.
Other issues that came up for discussion included enrolment of female students in primary and secondary schools, civil service reforms, improvement of economic governance, achieving MDGs (millennium development goals) in the context of the SAARC, corruption and women empowerment
"The meeting focussed on administrative reforms, good governance, capacity building, improvement of services delivery and major activities of their respective countries and share best practices in these areas," Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said while briefing reporters about the meeting at a city hotel.
Cabinet secretaries of seven countries took part in the meeting as Nepal was absent in the discussion because of financial crisis, he said. Twenty-eight delegates, including an eight-member delegation of Bangladesh, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, attended the two-day meet.
"Poverty is the common enemy in the eight-state region and we'll (the member-states) work together to overcome the problem. This was also instructed by the Prime Minister when we met her before the meeting," he said. The member-states too have agreed to intensify the regional cooperation regarding the issues, he added.
Mr. Bhuiyan said the SAARC cabinet secretaries' meeting contributed significantly to enhancing regional cooperation in various fields in South Asia.
Asked why the SAARC remains unproductive over the years, its Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa said much has been done although there is a need to do much more in the future with collective wisdom and efforts.
"I can't agree that it hasn't done anything. But it cannot fulfil the level of expectations because of so many reasons," he said.
Mentioning some achievements made by the eight-state forum, the secretary general said the SAARC leaders have been able to meet on a regular basis and managed to prevent conflicts in the region.
"If our leaders periodically meet and talk about socio-economic development, common interest and problems of the region, then we can perform much better," he added.
He said that a number of things have been done in the many areas related to trade, poverty reduction, connectivity, employment and energy security, apart from introduction of SAARC visa scheme.
"We can't compare us (our region) with the ASEAN or the European Union because of having a very brief history," Thapa said. In the EU, the member-states have surrendered their sovereignty to the EU. "In our region, our leaders felt that everything should be done based on a consensus. I think, it is a very wise and best idea."
Asked what steps are being taken to alleviate poverty in the region, Thapa said they have been doing something collectively in terms of connectivity, trade, employment and others that naturally will lead to alleviation of poverty.
Responding to another question, Mr. Thapa said only four out of nine observers to the SAARC are active. They are Australia, Japan Korea and China.
The SAARC members are Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
