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Monday, April 26, 2010
Pakistan for regional approach to tackle South Asian water issue
* Foreign secy says South Asia should adopt regional cooperative approach to address glacier melting, watershed management, pollution on urgent basis
* Supports proposal to strengthen SAARC Energy Centre
* Pakistan implementing SAFTA, committed to combat terrorismISLAMABAD: South Asia should develop a regional approach to effectively tackle its water issues, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said on Sunday.
Addressing the 37th session of the Standing Committee of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Bhutan, Bashir said South Asia was a water-stressed region and should adopt a regional cooperative approach to address the issues of glacier melting, watershed management and pollution on an urgent basis.
The foreign secretary said SAARC should give priority to poverty alleviation and attainment of SAARC development goals through effective implementation of the SAARC Social Charter.
Dwelling on the energy issues, Bashir said while there was agreement among SAARC countries to focus on harnessing indigenous sources of energy including solar, wind, bio and hydel energies and for strengthening the regional energy related institutions.
Proposal: He said Pakistan supported the proposal to strengthen the SAARC Energy Centre and implementation of the proposed project providing for energy efficiency and support on renewable energy.
The foreign secretary regarded food security as another important area of regional cooperation. He said given the seasonal food deficits and surpluses in the region, SAARC needed to explore the possibility of initiating joint ventures in agriculture and food security.
He said some of the projects could be financed by the SAARC Development Fund. Bashir said early establishment of the SAARC Food Bank would be a milestone.
SAFTA: On enhancing regional economic cooperation, the foreign secretary said Pakistan was fully implementing South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and would support adoption of additional trade facilitation measures to supplement the Free Trade Agreement.
Pakistan also supported cooperation among member states in the services sector. The SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services, which would be signed during the summit would be a step forward in the right direction.
To enhance greater cultural and people-to-people interaction among the SAARC member states, the foreign secretary proposed to revisit the SAARC visa regime with a view to addressing the difficulties in this regard.
On the issue of terrorism, Foreign Secretary Bashir said the scourge had acquired local, regional and global dimension, adding that it could only be tackled through cooperative efforts. He said Pakistan was committed to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestation.
He said the Declaration on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, which was adopted in the SAARC meeting in Colombo in February 2009, should be adhered to, and all member countries should cooperate on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect as well as on the basis of principles of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of the member states.
The people of South Asia looked to us for ending their struggles and improving their lives, he said, adding that it was for all SAARC member states to ensure that their effort to reinvigorate SAARC was not a one-off annual exercise but was a sustained and continuous process of unswerving commitment.
During the session, the standing committee unanimously agreed to the nomination of Islamabad Law and Justice Division Senior Joint Secretary Sultan Ahmad as the first director general of the SAARC Arbitration Council. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk