Action-oriented SAARC Summit
Terrorism, Trade and Transit main themes :
Manjula Fernando in New Delhi
INDIA: The stage has been set for a smooth sailing of the
landmark South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit
which will be inaugurated at the Vigyan Bhawan Convention Centre in New
Delhi today.
Terrorism, Trade and Transit will be the three main themes at the
two-day event. The leaders will push for more integration and
action-oriented proposals rather than nominal declarations at the
landmark sessions that will see an expansion in the regional grouping
for the first time in its over two decades history, with Afghanistan's
ascension to member status.
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STRENGTHENING TIES: President Mahinda Rajapaksa meeting Mani
Shankar Aiyar, Union Cabinet Minister of Panchayati Raj and Youth
Affairs, Sports and Development of North Eastern Region.
Picture by Sudath Silva
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa leading the Sri Lankan delegation to the
14th summit arrived in the heavily guarded capital on Sunday night on
board a chartered Mihin Lanka flight.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Pakistani Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz, Chief Advisor to the Bangladesh Interim Administration
Fakhruddin Ahmed, Bhutani Prime Minister Khandu Wangchuk, Nepali Prime
Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will attend the Summit that will see a
commitment-oriented declaration on combating regional terrorism.
Foreign Ministers of China, Japan and South Korea, Li Zhaozing, Taro
Aso and Song Minsoon will make brief presentations at the opening
session as Observers.
Representatives from US and EU will also monitor developments at the
main summit.
The newcomer, Afghanistan, the only member which has no border
connection with India has already made a useful contribution by
extending support for Sri Lanka's inputs to the counter terrorism
declaration, the highlight of the summit, at pre-secretarial level
meetings.
Sri Lanka has proposed emphasis on terrorist funding, calling for
effective action to arrest all types of fund raising, money laundering
and arms procurement by terror groups including the LTTE, through state
law enforcement agencies without being confined to redundant clauses in
previous global and regional declarations addressing terrorism.
There are some reservations between Pakistan and India over certain
observations concerning the Sri Lankan proposal but an official said
they have called for flexibility in dealing with this matter which is of
great importance for a region afflicted by terrorism and hopefully Sri
Lanka's representations will be incorporated into the declaration.
Coinciding with the Summit, a gala evening of the best of music and
dance from SAARC countries will be held with the participation of the
best cultural troupes from member states, at Siri Fort Auditorium.
The Indian Prime Minister will wrap up the two-day summit with a
media briefing at 6.00 p.m. on Wednesday at the Vigyan Bhawan. The SAARC
with 1.47 billion people, represents 22 per cent of the world's
population.
Iran has applied for SAARC Observer Status on March 4, 2007 and is
currently awaiting a response. |
