Leaders reaffirm faith in collective prosperity

ADDU CITY, Nov 10 (Agencies): The two-day 17th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) began in this scenic island city of Addu on Thursday with the theme, 'Building Bridges'. Heads of states or governments from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka attended the inaugural ceremony and made their respective country statements at the Equatorial Convention Centre here. They voiced the importance of regionalism that must encompass urgent cooperation in the fields of greater physical connectivity, promotion of tourism, tackling climate change, higher agriculture productivity, food security and counterterrorism. Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed assumed the new chair of the eight-nation regional forum for the next one year. The summiteers will go Friday for a Summit Retreat at Laalu Vila of Shangri-La's Resort. Friday afternoon, they will attend the concluding session at the Equatorial Convention Centre and adopt the Male Declaration. The 18th SAARC summit will be held in Nepal next year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the lone female leader in the forum, said the two most dangerous factors that have been haunting the people of South Asia are poverty and terrorism. She said all the countries of SAARC should come forward and put a combined effort to eliminate both malaises from the region. The prime minister put an extraordinary emphasis on regional connectivity, promotion of tourism and trade, safe labour migration and trust building. She said since the birth of SAARC, which stands for South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation, in Dhaka in 1985, it has progressed a lot, but now is the time to accelerate it further. In his address, Indian Prime Minister reaffirmed his country's commitment to make SAARC an effective instrument to deliver the vision of common peace, shared prosperity and cooperation. Singh said: "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 the Summit is being held at a time when the global economy is under acute stress. "This has imposed a fresh and entirely uncalled for burden on our development efforts. We hope that the leaders of the major economies, particularly in the Eurozone, will show the wisdom and will that are required to revive the global economy." He said these countries should seek imaginative ways to create new avenues and sources of growth and investment in South Asia. Prime Minister of Pakistan Yusuf Raza Gilani said the gap between the promise of SAARC and the reality of its accomplishments needs to be bridged. "We should build on convergences, minimize divergences and most of all seek to augment complementarities for the greater good of the peoples of this region," he said in his country statement at the inaugural session. Gilani said South Asia has the potential to become an important engine for global economic growth. It has all the necessary ingredients in terms of human and natural resources to work the economic miracle of this century. The Pakistan Prime Minister said the Summit's theme, 'Building Bridges', reflects the region's common desire for promoting mutual understanding and reaching out to each other to create win-win scenarios. It also resonates with SAARC's avowed goal to enhance "Intra-regional connectivity" by 2020. Welcoming the establishment of SAARC Development Fund, the Pakistan Prime Minister said this Fund must be enabled to lead a region-wide developmental effort. Closer cooperation in the area of finance and banking is also essential, he added. Current SAARC chair and President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed Thursday expressed his high optimism saying 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 while delivering his speech. Nasheed said the economy of the SAARC region is booming, politics of this region has been stabilised while thinkers and researchers of the region is of world class. He said the SAARC region is full of wealth and this wealth has to be harvested with a coordinated effort. "If we can ensure the harnessing of wealth, we will be able to ensure the decent life for the people of this region," he said amid huge applause. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said despite recognised geographic boundary, SAARC countries should have a new mentality to think in a greater mind that encompasses the entire region starting from Bangladesh to Afghanistan. He proposed three core areas -- education, health and communications -- for investment. He also said the common enemies -- insurgency, bigotry and piracy -- of the region should be identified and eliminated accordingly. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the peace and stability of SAARC region largely depends on two major powers -- India and Pakistan -- and these two countries should focus more on removing impediments. He also sought help from all countries to help Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, who have been facing terrorism for a long time. Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said direct rail, road and air connectivity among the SAARC states, especially for landlocked Nepal and Bhutan, was crucial to help all countries develop equitably. He also said transit should be provided for these countries to import products through a third country seaport. Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley said development should be backed by the indicators of peace and all countries should devise their development plant in line with bringing peace to the peoples' lives. He said SAARC has created an enormous potential for the entire region to grow and bring smiles on the faces of one-and-a-half billion people.