ISLAMABAD, July 21: The two-day meeting of the Saarc Council of Ministers ended here on Wednesday with specific proposals for collaborative projects promising benefits to the peoples of the region.
"I am pleased to inform you that we have successfully concluded the 25th session of the Council of Ministers," announced Council Chairman and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri at a news briefing. Saarc Secretary-General Q.A.M.A. Rahim was present on the occasion.
"Our deliberations were imbued with a new spirit of dynamism. Today, an air of hope and optimism prevails throughout the region. Saarc has started to exude new confidence and its international profile has improved," Mr Kasuri declared.
He highlighted the decisions taken by the council that included strengthening of cooperation in the areas of telecommunications and information technology; approval of the plan of action recommended by the working group on energy and authorization of a meeting of Saarc energy ministers to consider recommendations of the group; and establishment of a Saarc forestry centre in Bhutan.
The council also decided to take immediate steps for the implementation of Saarc programmes with the assistance of international development institutions; to expedite the process for seeking the UN observer status for Saarc; to enhance inter-regional cooperation; and to encourage collaboration with other regional organizations and the UN agencies.
It resolved that it would look into modalities for establishing dialogue partnership with other regional bodies and states outside the region taking into account the experience of other regional organizations like ASEAN.
Also, specific proposals on economic integration, poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, and parliamentary exchanges were referred to relevant regional and national mechanisms and institutions for consideration.
The council asked the Saarc Autonomous Advocacy Group of Prominent Women Personalities to focus on women's right to equal opportunities in social, economic and political spheres, the foreign minister underlined.
He said the Saarc secretariat had been directed to complete the Regional Poverty Profile (RPP) 2004 and added that the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (Isacpa) had been asked to expedite preparation of South Asian Development Goals for the next five years in the areas of poverty alleviation, education, health and environment.
The UNDP had agreed to support this exercise, he stated. The council approved the appointment of the new Saarc secretary-general, Ambassador Lyonpo Dorji of Bhutan, who will start his term in January 2005 when Mr Rahim, the present secretary-general, ends his term.
The next summit would be held in Dhaka on January 9-11, he announced. The foreign minister said the council had endorsed the recommendation to confer posthumously the prestigious 'Bir Uttam' Saarc Award 2004 on president Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in recognition of his vision and initiative for the establishment of Saarc.
When asked how the Saarc goals could be achieved without addressing the issues of peace and security and resolution of disputes in the region, he referred to comments by analysts that Saarc had been held hostage to Pakistan-India tensions and then added: "Sometimes it is better to be vague in words and clear in thoughts."
Despite the foreign minister's utmost attempt to keep the focus of the briefing on Saarc, he was compelled by journalists to speak on India-Pakistan ties. "Let us not take the focus away," he urged journalists. At one point, he said: "My lips are sealed."
But when a questioner confronted him for not taking up the issue of the LoC fencing with his Indian counterpart who had raised the issue of cross- border terrorism with Pakistan, Mr Kasuri said: "Pakistan's position on this is no secret, it is not fair to say that Pakistan has withdrawn its objection to the fencing.
Pakistan has registered its protest repeatedly wherever it matters." When another questioner asked how without the resolution of the Kashmir dispute could Saarc achieve its objectives of poverty alleviation, Mr Kasuri merely conceded that the Pakistan-India relations had cast a dark shadow on Saarc.
Earlier, answering a question, the Saarc secretary-general said the council had reviewed the implementation of the Safta Framework Agreement signed in January. He said the progress in this regard had been satisfactory but indicated that it would take some time before all the issues were addressed. "There are different issues that are being tackled and it can't be done overnight," he said.