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Download PDF Development cooperation, stronger counter-terror collaboration and increased people-to-people contact in the region dominated the 30-point Delhi Declaration of eight South Asian leaders adopted at the end of the 14th Saarc summit in New Delhi yesterday.
Leaders of the eight member states, including the new member Afghanistan, also signed inter-governmental agreements to create a South Asian University in India and a Saarc Food Bank, to mitigate food crises in the region at times of natural or other disasters.
The eight leaders also decided to hold the next summit in Maldives capital Male, in 2008 and designate 2008 as the “Saarc Year of Good Governance,” at the leaders’ retreat.
The declaration also welcomed Iran’s association as an observer to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).
The Saarc leaders committed to quickly operationalise the Saarc Development Fund (SDF) with the summit taking the fund to an advanced stage but it could not be launched as the member states failed to reach a consensus on the funding, structure and operations of the fund.
The heads of states also agreed to hold meetings this year to sketch out counter-terror collaboration in the form of a Saarc Convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters and also to implement the Saarc Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism.
However, the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) remained mired in the Pakistan-India trade disputes, as Pakistan’s reluctance to implement the regime holds back its effectiveness.
The Delhi Declaration, almost half the size of the 53-point declaration adopted in the 13th summit in Dhaka, also emphasised the need for planning a phase-by-phase roadmap for a South Asian Economic Union and a South Asian Customs Union at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi proposals to reduce regional telephony tariffs, greater agricultural research, environmental conservation, boosting intra-regional tourism and holding annual Saarc youth camps also received prominence in the declaration.
“We have agreed to make tangible progress in the next six months on four issues which affect our people’s daily lives: water (including flood control), energy, food and the environment,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the new Saarc chairperson, said in his closing remarks.
He said the organisation would work with international agencies to develop and implement viable cross-border regional projects.
Welcoming the five new observers who attended the Saarc summit for the first time, Manmohan said, “This manifests our common desire for Saarc to be outward looking and engaged with the world community; to be a springboard for exploiting the vast physical and intellectual resources of South Asia.”
In the declaration, the eight leaders committed to adopting the Saarc Development Goals in national policy, harmonising customs procedures, greater cooperation in energy, ICT and implementing social charter.
Manmohan said, “The cooperation and accommodation that have characterised our deliberations and negotiations show that our countries are ready for a transformation of Saarc into an effective instrument of regional advancement.”
“I did feel a new sense of purpose and determination among the leaders of Saarc,” he said, adding, “I believe that a new dawn is breaking out over South Asia and that we are all set to fulfil the promise and vision of Saarc.”
The 14th Saarc leaders’ summit declaration stated that the South Asian University would be set up in New Delhi and asked an inter-governmental body to work out its details.
While the Saarc Food Bank has also been agreed to “Supplement national efforts to provide food security to the people of the region.”
In an effort to combat terrorism, its funding through narcotics trafficking, and trafficking in people and illicit arms, the declaration mentioned an Indian proposal to draft a Saarc Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.
The convention and its modalities, which might include an extradition clause, would be discussed before the second meeting of the Saarc interior/home ministers to be held in Sri Lanka in October this year.
The declaration also condemned terrorism in all its forms and called for implementation of the counter-terror instruments outlined in the Saarc Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and its Additional Protocol.
The leaders also called for inclusion of the new full member Afghanistan in all Saarc plans, including the Saarc Regional Multi-modal Transport Study (RMTS).
The leaders stated in the declaration that India has offered to hold a Saarc Ministers of Transport Meeting in New Delhi in 2007 to comprehensively address customs clearance, facilitation measures and transport operations among the eight countries.
The declaration states that the SDF will bring concrete and effective benefits to South Asians and directed its quick operationalisation.
They agreed that the resources for SDF would be mobilised from within and outside the region and be consistent with the Saarc Charter. The leaders called for “early identification and implementation of regional and sub-regional projects under the SDF”.
The leaders also observed the need for accelerating development of renewable energy development such as hydropower, bio-fuel, solar and wind power, which would be discussed in the South Asia Energy Dialogue to be held in Delhi in March 2007.
The Eight leaders also asked for concerted efforts to quickly implement the various initiatives under the Saarc Plan of Action on Environment.
The declaration stated, the leaders emphasised that Safta should be implemented in ‘letter and spirit’, but also “stressed that to realize its full potential, Safta should integrate trade in services.”
They called for quick finalisation of the Agreement in the services sector, and the Agreement on Investment Promotion and Protection.
The leaders also noted the importance of implementing trade facilitation measures, especially standardisation of basic customs terms, documentation and clearing procedures.
The declaration also stated the need for harmonising technical and phyto-sanitary standards and their trade-friendly implementation to boost intra-Saarc trade.
They also welcomed the establishment of a Saarc Standards Coordination Board as a precursor to the Saarc Regional Standards Body.
The leaders also asked for the World Trade Organization to show commitment for a successful conclusion to the Doha Round.
The leaders also stressed the need for focusing on women empowerment and participation in decision-making processes.
Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom spoke on behalf of the Saarc leaders and appreciated their contribution to the summit.
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Khandu Wangchuk and Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala attended the concluding.
ALL BANGLADESHI PROPOSALS ADOPTED
All of Bangladesh’s proposals in the pre-summit and the leaders’ summit were accepted and were prominent in the Delhi declaration adopted at the end of the 14th Saarc summit.
Dhaka’s proposals focused on sowing seeds for future cooperation and Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed outlined his vision in his speech at the summit’s opening on Tuesday.
Fakhruddin’s concern over global climate change was also reflected in the declaration, as it stated that the leaders “expressed deep concern over global climate change and the consequent rise of sea level and its impact on the lives and livelihoods in the region.”
One of Bangladesh’s proposals, greater cooperation in environment, was also adopted by the declaration. The leaders noted the need for deepening collaborations to address arsenic contamination of groundwater, desertification and melting of glaciers and assistance to the affected.
The leaders emphasised the need for assessing and managing its risks and impacts and called for cooperation in early forecasting, warning and monitoring, sharing of knowledge and pursuing climate resilient development in South Asia.
Another Bangladesh proposal to commission a team of regional experts to identifying collective action in this regard was also mentioned in the declaration.
Another Bangladesh proposal to reduce telecom tariff to improve the standard of telephone services in the region was also mentioned in the declaration. Sources said Dhaka had been firm on the particular proposal despite initial Indian resistance.
“They (the leaders) agreed to take steps to facilitate rationalisation of telecom tariff on a reciprocal basis,” the declaration read, adding, “National and regional telecom infrastructure should be upgraded to boost people-to-people connectivity in the region.”
Bangladesh’s focus on sowing the seeds of people-to-people contact was further boosted by the mention of Bangladesh’s offer to host a Saarc Youth Camp in 2007, mentioned in Fakhruddin’s speech at the summit inauguration.
The leaders also took on another people-to-people issue raised by Bangladesh on boosting of intra-regional tourism, as the declaration stated that the leaders acknowledge the importance of “increased exchanges, particularly among the youth, civil society, and parliamentarians.”
More specifically, the leaders agreed with Dhaka’s proposal to take measures for charging uniform entry fees from citizens of Saarc member states for archaeological and heritage sites.
Another Dhaka proposal to expand the Saarc Scholarship Scheme in ICT and related areas was also directed to be instituted by the leaders.
Dhaka, along with Colombo, has also been campaigning for a greater focus on agriculture, which was also adopted in the declaration yesterday.
The leaders “stressed that South Asian agriculture must benefit from collaborative efforts within and among Saarc countries in developing an effective agriculture research, extension, farmers’ linkage and exchange of farm technology.”
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