Resumo de 14th Saarc Summit: Leaders Stress Connectivity

NEW DELHI, April 4 - With a vow to promote friendship and peace in the region, SAARC leaders on Tuesday stressed the need for increased connectivity of peoples and smooth flow of products within the region. "Connectivity - physical, economic and of the mind, enabling us to use fully our geographical and resource endowments - has historically been the key to our region's peace and prosperity," said Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, during the opening of the 14th summit of the SAARC in New Delhi. "South Asia has flourished most when connected to itself and the rest of the world." Dr Singh was speaking at the inaugural of the two-day summit, before he took over from Bangladesh as the SAARC chairperson. With official admittance of Afghanistan as the new member in the SAARC, the number of members in the 22-year-old bloc has risen to eight. The Indian Prime Minister proposed to "link all our capitals through direct flights" as an immediate step toward increasing connectivity. "We must commit to actually making the travel freer and easier," he said. "As an immediate step, India is announcing a unilateral liberalization of visas for students, teachers, professors, journalists and patients from SAARC countries. Let us aim to double the intra-SAARC flow of tourists in the next five years." India, said he, is ready to accept asymmetrical responsibilities, opening her markets to her South Asian neighbors "without insisting on reciprocity". "I am happy to announce today that we will allow duty-free access to India before the end of this year to our South Asian neighbors who are Least Developed countries and further reduce the sensitive list in respect of these countries." Besides emphasizing the need to increase cooperation among member countries, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala warned that "critical problems" may arise if poverty is not eradicated. "?the gap between the haves and have-nots is rising everywhere? If that can't be narrowed down, then critical problems will arise in the future," he said. "For that matter, I feel that South Asia has potential resources. If we can exploit it and use it properly, poverty will be reduced." Hailing the inclusion of Afghanistan in the SAARC and the presence of China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Iran as observers, Koirala said, these "two major milestones" of the meeting will help in the prosperity of the region with one-fifth of humanity and the world at large. 'Root out terrorism' The leaders also said the South Asian nations must "root out terrorism" to turn around the fortunes of their underperforming trading bloc. "We should implement in a meaningful and sincere manner the commitment and pledge made to root out terrorism to create an atmosphere for our endeavor to succeed," Indian Prime Minister Singh said. "We should break with the past and join hands to overcome the challenges." Addressing the summit, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz called for a fresh start, urging nations to make SAARC "goal-oriented". "Our progress remains short of our aspirations," said Aziz, blaming violence and conflict management that had "drained our energies". Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse sought support to deal with Tamil Tiger rebels on the island and warned that unless countries acted collectively, "trans-border groups will find safe havens in other parts of the region". Afghan President Hamid Karzai, speaking as SAARC's newest member, highlighted the bilateral tensions with a veiled swipe at Pakistan. He mentioned "political sponsorship" of terrorism, which he said needed to be eliminated. The inaugural session was also addressed by Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed, Bhutanese Prime Minister Khandu Wangchuk and Maldivian President Maumoon Gayoom.

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