04 November 2004	Thursday	20 Ramazan 1425

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DHAKA, Nov 3: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Wednesday that Pakistan wished to turn a new chapter in its relations with India and that the process of composite dialogue and confidence-building measures had improved the atmosphere.

He was speaking at a state banquet given in his honour by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

"We have to create an enabling environment at national as well as regional levels for realizing the full potential of our talented peoples and the collective resources of our rich region to make South Asia prosperous," he said.

Saarc had contributed to improving the political climate in South Asia, the prime minister said. "Particularly this year saw the seven-nation grouping launching multiple trajectories for building regional cooperation for peace and development."

"Pakistan believes that a process of building confidence, assuring security, resolving disputes peacefully, and ushering in mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of sovereign equality needs to be instituted in South Asia," he added.

Prime Minister Aziz paid rich tribute to the late Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rehman for proposing the idea of Saarc and said the organization returned to Dhaka this year, its birthplace, 'for inspiration and revitalization'.

Pakistani people deeply cherished their close fraternal relations with Bangladesh, he said, adding: "We are committed to broadening further the horizons of our mutually beneficial cooperation."

The prime minister said that Pakistan's relations with Bangladesh were rooted in shared faith, history, culture and multiple bonds of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Earlier, Begum Khaleda Zia in her welcome speech said her country and Pakistan enjoyed excellent relations as the two nations were bound by common history, shared values and similar culture.

She said views of the two countries coincided on most of the regional, international and global issues and she was happy that Bangladesh and Pakistan had maintained close coordination and unfailing cooperation at various regional and international forums.

Both the countries, she said, attached the highest importance to Saarc and building South Asia as a region of peace, progress and prosperity.

OFFICIAL TALKS: The prime ministers of Pakistan and Bangladesh on Wednesday agreed to float a development fund to address poverty in the South Asian region.

Begum Zia floated the idea during official talks with Mr Aziz.

Briefing newsmen about the 45-minute meeting, Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury said Prime Minister Aziz suggested more interaction and cooperation between Saarc and other regional forums like EU and Asean.

He said that Begum Zia proposed the formation of an 'open fund' with contributions from all the member states of Saarc, and Mr Aziz supported the idea.

The two leaders also agreed that Saarc had two vital areas - trade and commerce and poverty reduction - where further improvement was required. Improvement of regional trade was possible though the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta), they observed.

Quoting Begum Khaleda Zia, the foreign secretary said that Bangladesh might present some proposals in the next Saarc Summit scheduled to be held in Dhaka in January next year, for poverty reduction in the region.

About bilateral trade, the Pakistan prime minister said his country would give special facilities to Bangladesh.

These facilities will be discussed later, the Bangladeshi foreign secretary said. "The Pakistani leader also informed the Bangladeshi prime minister about internal matters."

Later, talking to newsmen, Mr Aziz said that Saarc was an important forum and there were two particular areas -- expansion of trade through Safta in the region and poverty alleviation -- where the forum could make significant contribution.

Mentioning a 'tremendous challenge' in the present world, Mr Aziz said: "The global situation can be faced with collective efforts of the Saarc nations."

The prime ministers also discussed ways of strengthening Saarc and decided to close their ranks to make the organization result-oriented.

According to official sources, both leaders discussed in detail the decisions taken during the 12th Saarc Summit and stressed the need for making the organization strong, effective and dynamic.

Pakistan assured Bangladesh of its full cooperation in making the 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka a great success.

Prime Minister Aziz emphasized the need for the member countries to undertake micro-economic reforms to achieve the objectives of poverty alleviation and putting them on road to progress.

Begum Khaleda Zia called upon member countries to forward their vision about the proposed 10-year plan of action. She expressed the hope that collective efforts would help make Saarc a most-effective organization and South Asia a tension-free region.

Pakistan's Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan, Industries and Production Minister Jehangir Taren, Minister for Textile Industry Mushtaq Cheema, Minister of State for Water and Power Amir Muqam and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar were present during the meeting.

The Bangladeshi prime minister was assisted by Foreign Minister Morshed Khan, Adviser for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman and PM's Principal Secretary Dr Kamaluddin Siddiqui.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said that a 10-year visionary plan would be chalked out during the 13th Saarc Summit which would also mark the completion of 20 years of the organization.

He stressed the need for closer cooperation and exchange of vision among the member states in order to make the proposed plan comprehensive and practical.

Earlier, Prime Minister Aziz on his arrival here from Bhutan on a two-day visit was received by Khaleda Zia.

Two children presented bouquets to Mr Aziz and his wife as they alighted from the aircraft.

A 19-gun salute heralded the prime minister's arrival. He was also presented a guard of honour.