Apr 16 , 2015
News
PM meets cabinet secretaries of Saarc countries
Nawaz urges cabinet secretaries of Saarc to make the organisation responsive to the aspirations of its people
INPISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that Pakistan considered Saarc as an important vehicle for regional cooperation and achieving peace, progress and stability in the region.
The prime minister said that Pakistan wished to see Saarc as a vibrant regional organisation. He said that this during a meeting with a delegation of cabinet secretaries of Saarc countries at the Prime Minister’s House here on Thursday. South Asia with a market of 1.7 billion consumers, he said that immense human capital, unexploited natural resources and a predominantly younger generation can act as an engine of economic growth for the region as well as the world at large.
Nawaz said with immense resources at its disposal, Saarc has the potential to transform the quality of life of the people of South Asia. He expressed the confidence that this forum will help Saarc to become more responsive to the aspirations of its people and an economic driving force for the region. He said that Pakistan places poverty alleviation on top of Saarc agenda and believes that the aspirations of the peoples of Saarc countries should be at the center of the Organisation's processes.
The prime minister said that Pakistan was strategically located to play a vital role towards intra-regional and inter-regional connectivity, particularly developing rail and road links. He said that the government attached great importance to civil service reform with a focus on performance based management to transform public sector organizations into efficient engines of service delivery.
He said that the civil service needed to be re-invented according to the requirements and challenges of modern times and emphasized on learning from the experiences of each other in this regard. He said a committee has been formed to realize this vision of the PML-N, which will present its report soon. He also asked participants to give their recommendations in this regard.
The participants informed the prime minister that member states were in the process of implementing the decisions taken during the 18th Saarc summit, held in Kathmandu last year. They said that their governments were committed towards expanding regional cooperation and wish more people to people contact and increased interaction among the business persons of the two countries.
They also said that Saarc countries could learn from the best practices of each other in various fields for the collective welfare of the people Saarc states. They also conveyed greetings of their leadership to the prime minister. Participants of the meeting included Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Saarc Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa; Charge De Affaires Embassy of Afghanistan Syed Abdul Nasis Yousofi; Cabinet Secretary Bangladesh Muhammad Musharraf Hussain Bhuiyan.
Dr Phuntsho Namgyel Offrg, Cabinet Secretary Bhutan; Ajit Kumar Seth, Cabinet Secretary India; Leela Mani Paudyal, Chief Secretary, Nepal; Raja Hassan Abbas, Cabinet Secretary, Pakistan and W M D J Fernando, Additional Secretary, Office of the Cabinet Ministers Sri Lanka were also present there.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk