PM for combined efforts to eliminate poverty, terrorism from South Asia

ADDU (Maldives), Nov 10 (UNB): Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina has called for combined efforts to eliminate poverty and terrorism, the two most dangerous malaises in South Asia, to ensure growth and development. The PM said this at the inaugural session of the 17th SAARC Summit at the Hithadhoo Convention Centre in the city Thursday. "We've to cooperate and exert combined efforts to eliminate both evils from our region to protect our social fabrics, our growth and development," she said. Sheikh Hasina also called for taking bold decision backed by political will to implement various development projects to vindicate trust, goodwill and confidence of the South Asians in the 26-year-old South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). "In fact, the time is ripe for bold decisions to pledge and redeem our political commitment," Hasina told the SAARC leaders attending the summit. Earlier, host Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed assumed the chairmanship of the eight-member SAARC from outgoing chair, Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley. Afghanistan's President Abdul Hamid Karzai, Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nepal's Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raja Gilani and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa also attended the inaugural session. Besides, representatives of the SAARC Observer countries and organisations were present. Stressing the need for better connectivity in the region, the Bangladesh PM said physical connectivity is crucial not only for intra-SAARC but also for wider regional trade and movement. "Bangladesh has been hoping since the last Summit to see finalisation of the SAARC Regional Railways Agreement, as a first step," she said. "In Bangladesh, we wish to establish better connectivity with neighbouring countries to ensure all-round prosperity and overall social wellbeing of our peoples," she added. She urged the member countries to take practical initiatives so that the Railways Agreement concludes at the earliest as regional transport connectivity is the key to facilitating greater movement of people, goods and services. Hasina said Bangladesh has remained steadfast in implementing the priority recommendations of the 'SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Study'. She recalled that last year, when the Summit agreed on the idea of South Asia Forum (SAF), it was realised that the future South Asia has to be a region connected by physical linkages as well as through ideas and initiatives. Calling for freer movement of people and labour within the SAARC countries, the Prime Minister said at present, travel is driven by business, health, religious or educational purposes, but the potential for tourism remains untapped. She made a strong plea to ease the travel restrictions with the ultimate goal of free movement taking into consideration the new wave of trust, mutual respect and democratic values in the region. The Bangladesh PM also suggested freer movement of labour to meet the needs of individual member countries, but under strong government supervision to remove labour exploitation and control over the costs of migration. "After all, living standards and lifestyles are not too different and there is a better chance of integration and reduction of costs all around from such liberalisation," she told the summit. The PM said since the SAARC countries form one of the largest labour sending blocks, there should be a better cooperation to ensure the migrants' rights. "Through cooperation rather than competition we can ensure that our migrant labour gets the best treatment when working in third countries." Referring to Bangladesh's proposal made last year for establishing SAARC Seed Bank, she said the member states have not yet been able to tap full potential of the decade-old SAARC Food Bank. "We need to address its operational shortcomings to utilise its reserve. Towards these ends, we also need to have a specific mechanism to facilitate greater cooperation among our research institutions in agriculture and other related areas." On the critical issue of climate change, Hasina suggested to operationalise the 'Convention on Cooperation on Environment', and the four specific initiatives -- on South Asian Monsoon, Mountain, Marine, and Coastal Zones. She also called for intense collaboration on the management of water resources of the common rivers in the Eastern Himalayan Region. Alongside bilateral negotiation, she proposed the institutional cooperation of co-riparian countries of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra river basins, which would facilitate integrated development and management of water resources of the respective basins, nourish agriculture and consequently benefit more than a billion people in the region. She also sought cooperation to firmly tackle smuggling of narcotics, fake currencies, and the trafficking of women and children. The Bangladeshi leader said her government is in the process of enacting a comprehensive law on trafficking to address the problem. Since trafficking is a cross-border issue that requires more comprehensive regional guidelines, she proposed the expansion of the scope of the 'SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children', which was signed in January 2002. On the international economic scenario, the Prime Minister said that in recent years, the South Asian economies have been affected by the global financial crisis. Although the SAARC countries have withstood some of the financial challenges, their economies still remain vulnerable due to factors originating beyond the region. "Rising prices of food and fuel combined with a reduction in food production due to erratic climate behaviour have jeopardized sustainable livelihoods for many of our people," she said. Moreover, "the adverse effects of climate change and global warming have visibly made our lives harder, restraining our progress in poverty alleviation, and attainment of the Millennium Development Goals," she added. Despite the adversities, Hasina said Bangladesh has still come up with innovative ideas, initiatives and models that have earned global acclaim. However, many of these successes could be enhanced through better regional cooperation. The PM said the Third Decade of SAARC launched as the "Decade of Implementation" should encourage SAARC Development Fund, with a few regional projects in its portfolio, to undertake projects under its infrastructure and economic windows. "A larger and diverse portfolio of projects in SDF is critical to vindicate the trust, goodwill and confidence of our people in the SAARC." She suggested that the Observers in the SAARC could be engaged more in the SAARC activities so they can support a faster development process in the region with their knowledge and experience. "Our progress and prosperity demand that we support and strengthen each other's capacities and commitments. Only then we will be able to fulfill the aspirations of our peoples," she said.