KARACHI, Nov 9: Pakistan strongly supports Afghanistan’s bid for membership of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and would propose its inclusion in the ministerial meeting to be held before the 13th Saarc summit in Dhaka.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri at a news conference here on Wednesday. He said that in his capacity as chairman of the Saarc Council of Ministers he would propose admitting Afghanistan as a full member of the organization.

Mr Kasuri said he had received a letter from Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah with the request that his country to be admitted to Saarc.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan share bonds of history, culture, traditions, values as well as common perceptions of peace, stability and harmony in our region. We strongly support Afghanistan’s admission in the Saarc fold,” said Mr Kasuri.

In the context of improved relations, Mr Kasuri pointed out that there had been a 40-time increase in trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan in three years, from $30 million to $1.2 billion.

Certain other countries were also interested in being associated with Saarc either as observers or dialogue partners. They include China and Japan, which were already linked with the organization by virtue of the Saarc-Japan fund. Modalities had to be worked out for including them in the Saarc fold, he said.

He claimed that Saarc’s profile had enhanced internationally and the decision taken at the 12th Saarc summit in Islamabad had opened new avenues and chartered new horizons for promoting peace and prosperity of the people of South Asia.

Mr Kasuri said that since the signing of Safta, a committee of experts had met 11 times.

This was in addition to the four meetings of the commerce ministers of the member states. He hoped that the few outstanding issues in the implementation of Safta would be agreed upon in Dhaka and it would become operational by January.

Mr Kasuri said he was going to Dhaka with an open mind and a positive attitude and would try to meet the important target.

The Saarc council of ministers would also be discussing matters relating to regional cooperation in new areas, including energy, environment and tourism. It would also review progress of implementation of Saarc Social Charter and evolving a Vision for the Third Decade of Saarc.

The 13th summit will also discuss regional projects and financing mechanisms. Saarc, he said, was moving towards regional project cooperation. A shift towards project cooperation would be beneficial for the region.

“We believe that a project where two or more countries could benefit should be considered a Saarc activity,” said Mr Kasuri, adding that there would be further discussions on the matter.

Pakistan, he said, had proposed the setting up of a Saarc poverty alleviation fund with a capital of $340 million. Contribution from the member states could be calculated according to their share in the GDP of South Asia.

Pakistan is also setting up a national committee with representation from various ministries to implement the Saarc Social Charter signed at the 12th Saarc summit in Islamabad.

Saarc, the foreign minister said, was also focusing on environment, communications, commerce, information, health and energy.

There would also be bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.

Referring to the disaster caused by tsunami and earthquake in Pakistan, he recalled recommendations made by environment ministers in Male early this year and said that Pakistan had proposed establishment of a region-wide early warning system and a disaster response regime.

Appreciating the international response to the earthquake in Pakistan, Mr Kasuri said that according to latest estimates, more than 86,000 people had lost their lives, over 100,000 had been injured and nearly 3.3 million had become homeless as the figures kept rising.

He thanked the world community for support, cooperation and assistance and hoped that in the international donors’ conference in Islamabad on Nov 19 a strong commitment for financial assistance matching the unprecedented scale of tragedy would be forthcoming.