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ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: Three comprehensive reports on poverty alleviation will be submitted to the 12th Saarc summit for approval, announced Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar on Saturday while briefing the media on the substantive and organizational aspects of the conference to be in Islamabad on Jan 4-6, 2004.
These reports have been prepared by the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation, the Saarc secretary-general and finance ministers.
The foreign secretary said a draft framework of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (Safta) was still in negotiations and he was optimistic about its outcome. He pointed out that its finalization was on hold due to insistence by a member state for enhanced special and differential treatment for the Less Developed Countries.
Answering questions on Safta, Mr Khokhar emphasized that Pakistan was talking about free trade in the context of the region and that it should not be seen as a change in Pakistan’s position or be read as a compromise.
“It is important to make a distinction between free trade in the regional context and free trade in the bilateral context,” he said. “In principle, Pakistan stands for free trade and in the context of the region,” he categorically stated. He pointed out that free trade was a common desire of all the Saarc countries and asserted it did not mean that Pakistan was compromising its vital interests in regard to trade or economic issues.
He said there was no change in Pakistan’s principled policy on Kashmir as clearly stated by both the president and the prime minister.
Articulating Pakistan’s commitment to the Sapta (South Asia Preferential Trade Agreement) and Safta process, the foreign secretary assured that Pakistan would continue its efforts to reach an agreement on the outstanding issues in the preparatory meetings leading to the summit.
He said other areas of the summit’s focus included agreements and conventions on suppressing terrorism, narcotics and psychotropic substance, trafficking in women and children for prostitution, and child welfare.
“Pakistan is committed to the effective implementation of these agreements and arrangements,” he asserted, adding that Pakistan was working for the approval of a Saarc social charter during the summit. The proposed charter seeks to promote participatory governance, equitable distribution of income and universal respect and promotion of human rights, he elaborated.
Referring to questions about the fate of the summit in the wake of Thursday’s suicide bomb attacks on President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s motorcade, the foreign secretary made it clear that Pakistan was pressing ahead with the summit and there was absolutely no change in plans. He said all participants and heads of state and government had confirmed their participation in the summit.
He held out the assurance that the security arrangements for the summit were very comprehensive. In reply to a question, he said so far no member had approached Islamabad specifically for any extra security cover but Pakistan would be happy to satisfy the concerns of any country with regard to security arrangements.
Answering a question, he said the Saarc charter was clear that no bilateral issues were to be discussed.
He announced that as a security measure during the summit, from 12 noon on Jan 3 to the evening of Jan 6, the area between the Marriott Hotel up to the Serena Hotel via Constitution Avenue would not be accessible to general public and traffic. The route for the Convention Centre and other places as well as the road, which will be closed, will be advertised in the media to save people from inconvenience.
The meetings of the programming committee will be held on Dec 29 and 30; standing committee will meet on Dec 31 and the meeting of the council of ministers will precede the summit on Jan 2 and 3.
SUMMIT PROGRAMME: The summit will be held from Jan 4-6. On Jan 4, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali will receive heads of state and government and deliver his inaugural address. This will be followed by adoption of the agenda, election of the chairman, that is the prime minister of Pakistan. Statements by the heads of state and government as well as the Saarc secretary-general. Then various reports will be presented to the summit.
On Jan 4 evening, all seven Saarc heads of state and government will make a joint call on President Musharraf at the Aiwan-i-Sadr. This will be followed by a banquet hosted by President Musharraf for the Saarc leaders.
On Jan 5, Saarc leaders will meet in a “Retreat” that will start around 11am. They will have discussions for about two hours that will be followed by lunch.
In reply to a question, Mr Khokhar said there was no set agenda for the retreat and any subject could come up. He hinted that expansion of Saarc could be one of the issues that the leaders might discuss during the retreat.
“The idea of the retreat is to discuss in an informal, casual atmosphere subjects that are not discussed formally during the conference,” he said.
Mr Khokhar did not disclose the venue of the retreat, which is widely believed to be arranged at the Prime Minister’s House. A cultural folk art programme has been organized for the Saarc leaders during their retreat. Later, the prime minister will host dinner for the Saarc leaders.
FINAL DAY: On Jan 6, the concluding day of the summit, treaties/agreements will be signed, subject to their prior approval, the Summit Declaration will be adopted, and the decision for venue of the next summit will be taken. The summit will close with Prime Minister Jamali’s address. Later, the prime minister, as the Saarc chairman, will hold a press conference with the Saarc secretary-general at the National Library.
BILATERAL MEETINGS: Mr Khokhar said Pakistan had received requests for bilateral meetings with President Musharraf from the presidents of Sri Lanka, Maldives and prime ministers of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. He said in regard to Prime Minister Jamali, requests had been received from Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan.
The foreign secretary’s short answer to a question about the level of his optimism regarding bilateral talks between Pakistan and India on the sidelines of the summit was: “One should always remain optimistic.”
When Mr Khokhar’s attention was drawn to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s latest interview in which he had said talks with Pakistan would only be on trade and cultural issues and not on substantive issues, he said: “Well, I don’t want to get into what issue is discussed and what issue is not, it depends very much on whether the bilateral meeting is held.”
The foreign secretary especially referred to the swift reaction of the Indian ministry of external affairs to the “unfortunate incident” which involved the president, saying Pakistan appreciated the sentiments expressed.
Asked if Pakistan would accord a warm welcome to Prime Minister Vajpayee on his arrival, Mr Khokhar said: “Mr Vajpayee and all the other distinguished heads of state and government will receive a warm welcome. By tradition we are a very hospitable people.”
MEDIA: The foreign secretary said more than 500 regional and international mediapeople were expected in the capital to cover the Saarc summit.
