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South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
conference 2010
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is
a regional forum launched in 1985 with eight countries members
in South Asia; India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Bhutan, Maldives and recently in 2007 Afghanistan.
Delegates from the eight South Asian, Including President Hamid
Karzai, representing Afghanistan, had a joint initiative on
Wednesday at
Bhutan to discuss issues like
climate change threats, boosting regional trade and economic
cooperation amongst the eight member countries.
During the course of the summit, an
agreement was signed amongst the eight member countries in order
to promote trade and enhancing collaboration amongst the member
counties addressing development initiatives in sectors like:
health, hospitality, economic cooperation, communications;
information technology and air traffic. Further, enabling the
realization of the south Asia
region’s potential in these services.
President Hamid Karzai called for greater cooperative efforts to
eradicate the twin scourge of terrorism and extremism from
South Asia. Addressing the 16th South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit here on
Wednesday, he urged on attacks over the past two years in
Kabul,
Islamabad,
Mumbai and elsewhere.
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In an effort to bring stability to
Afghanistan, devastated by three
decades of war, Karzai said his government was pursuing an agenda
for peace and reconciliation aimed at encouraging militants to lay
down their arms and accept the Afghan constitution. As part of the
reconciliation drive, his government is holding a Consultative Peace
Jirga, which will bring together Afghans from all walks of life.
Support from the stakeholders would spur the drive to reintegrate
low-level fighters, he hoped. "A peaceful and secure
Afghanistan
is to the benefit of the entire region. In this regard, we look
forward to the support of our neighbors and regional partners for
our peace and security agenda," he said. For its part,
Afghanistan
was ready to share its strategic location as a regional bridge to
help unlock the tremendous economic potential and opportunities that
existed in South and Central Asia, Karzai said.
He also referred to the network of highways rebuilt over the past
eight years and plans to construct railroads linking
Afghanistan
with its neighbors. "We are positioned to be a transport hub for
trade between South and Central Asia."
He was confident the implementation of SAFTA the South Asia Free
Trade Area - and the signing of the SAARC Agreement on Trade in
Services would significantly help member nation’s move towards trade
facilitation and cooperation. The involvement of the private sector
was central to the region's ability to achieve economic prosperity,
he said, while welcoming the establishment of the SAARC Arbitration
Council, which would boost private-sector confidence. He thanked the
government of
Bhutan
for making climate change the theme of the summit. An important
challenge to South Asia and the world at large was how to deal with the
impact of climate change on the habitat and livelihoods of people,
he said. "Afghanistan
believes the time has come for the much-discussed regional energy
projects to become realities.
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