India asks SAARC nations to rally against terrorism

Sagar Kulkarni
Thimphu, Apr 27 (PTI) Ahead of the SAARC Summit, India
on Tuesday asked the eight-nation grouping to rally against
the forces of terrorism which pose a serious danger to the
economic stability of the region.
"The South Asian region is particularly afflicted by this
menace. The time has come for us to rally against the forces
of terrorism that seek to divide and weaken our societies,"
Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said while
addressing the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation Council of Ministers here.
Krishna made a strong pitch for early conclusion of the
proposed UN Comprehensive Convention on International
Terrorism and ratification of other regional instruments to
jointly combat the menace.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives here on
Wednesday for the two-day summit during which terrorism is
expected to figure high on the agenda.
Krishna said SAARC countries have an abiding obligation
to address pressing problems like terrorism and drugs,
poverty, unemployment, trafficking in women and children and
illiteracy.
These should be addressed through well defined goals
based on mutual cooperation and understanding.
"Our effort will be to infuse a fresh dynamism into the
regional processes and to strive to channelise the fruits of
our collective efforts to the most vulnerable sections of our
societies," he said.
The minister said as the countries emerge out of a period
of unprecedented global recession into expectations of
relative economic growth and stability, they should seize the
opportunity to collectively enhance trade, open borders and
facilitate economic integration in the region.
"Our focus should be on improving regional connectivity
through upgrading trade, transport and telecommunication
links; addressing issues relating to trade facilitation such
as harmonisation of customs procedures and standards and
increasing understanding through greater people-to-people
contacts," Krishna said.
India, he said, was fully committed to working within
SAARC to contribute to the development of the region through
social development and regional economic integration.
He noted that regional projects initiated by India in
telemedicine, tele-education, rain water harvesting, seed
testing laboratories and solar rural electrification, are
under implementation in most SAARC member states.
Krishna said India supported a fresh SAARC position on
climate change in accordance with the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change principles and the Bali Action Plan.
Under this, concerns of developing countries have been
taken onboard.

The SAARC leaders are expected to discuss at length the
issue of climate change which is the central theme of the
summit. The leaders will come out with a Special SAARC
Declaration on Climate Change.
This is the first SAARC Summit hosted by Bhutan and marks
25 years of the establishment of the regional grouping.
Two SAARC agreements on Environment and Trade in Service
will be signed during the Summit which will be attended by
leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives,
India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
The agreements are expected to open new vistas for
cooperation among SAARC countries.
The trade in services pact is expected to enable
realisation of the region's immense potential in service areas
such as health, hospitality, communications, computer and
information services, and air transport.
The SAARC Convention on Environment is expected to
promote cooperation among the SAARC countries in the field of
environment and sustainable development.
India is also hopeful that the SAARC Agreements on Motor
Vehicles, Railways, Rapid Response to Natural Disasters,
Multilateral Arrangement of Conformity Assessment Activities
of Goods and Services and Regional MRA on Product
Certification will also be finalised at the earliest.
The SAARC Development Fund (SDF), which has a paid up
capital of USD 300 million, will be operationalised at the
inauguration of the summit on Wedenesday.
"We would urge member states to take full advantage of
the mechanism of SDF through expeditious clearance and
implementation of projects and programmes to promote the
welfare of the people of the SAARC region, to improve their
quality of life and to accelerate economic growth, social
progress and poverty alleviation in the region," Krishna said.
The SDF Secretariat located here will also be inaugurated
during the summit. PTI SKU
KAB