'SAARC needs legal mechanism to resolve problems of member states'

FE Team | Published: April 05, 2012 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

A two-day international conference concluded in Dhaka on Wednesday with a set of recommendations that suggests SAARC should function as a facilitator in resolving the bilateral issues in the region, reports UNB.
One recommendation says a legal mechanism like the European Court of Justice could be a desirable institution in the SAARC to resolve the problems of the member states.
It said that the SAARC Charter formulated in a different environment in 1980s should be revised to address the present aspiration of the member states.
Another recommendation said SAARC Development Fund needs to be used to develop infrastructures in the member states. It says mobilisation of resources through collective efforts should be emphasised especially when the member states are not able to do it on their own.
The seminar noted that South Asia should have more integration on trade and investment. It is necessary to remove domestic compulsions about trade and investment integration.
It says necessary efforts should be taken to build social and economic capital which will ensure the security of human being in the region and it called for formulating the South Asian Economic Union.
It stresses that the economic and security connectivity needs to be extended beyond South Asia.
The conference says that role of media is essential for furthering cooperation in South Asia. It says that media should be positive and should highlight commonalities and strong features of the country.
Speaking at the concluding session, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said 26 years ago SAARC had been slow at times but it has now made steady progress.
"We need to cooperate with each other more than ever before as the cost of non-cooperation is too high," she told the conference.
The Foreign minister expressed her deep optimism that SAARC will move ahead with much more decisive steps.
She listed some achievements like shortening of negative list of export items by the member states, formation of SAARC Development Fund, SAARC Seed Bank, and establishment of South Asian University and South Asia Forum.
Referring to the progress of ASEAN, Dipu Moni said: "We can definitely learn a lot from the experience of ASEAN." She said ultimate objective of SAARC is to have South Asia Economic Union, but there are miles to go to reach the destination.
Dipu Moni said the role of media is very important in advancing the causes of SAARC. She said media must be positive and supportive and it must learn when and where to stop. There should be maturity on the part of the media and their policymakers.
The conference on 'Challenges and Opportunities of Twenty First Century SAARC' was organized by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS). BIISS director general Maj Gen Imrul Quayes chaired the concluding session.