South Asian leaders of eight nations assembled in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to attend the 18th SAARC summit to begin this morning to discuss a host of issues including connectivity and cooperation in electricity among the member states.
The authorities put in place a foolproof security in Kathmandu for the two-day summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation that started its journey in Dhaka in 1985.
The theme of the 18th summit is ‘Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity’ in South Asia.
Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutanese prime minister Tshering Tobgay, Indian prime minister
Narendra Modi, Maldives president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Nepal prime minister Sushil Koirala, Pakistan prime minister Newaj Sharif and Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa already arrived in Kathmandu.
Hasina arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport at 4:15pm on Tuesday. Chief protocol officer Kali Prasad Pokhrel and Bangladesh ambassador to Nepal Mashfee Binte Shams welcomed her.
Nepalese deputy prime minister and minister for federal affairs and local development Prakash Man Singh, minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation Deepak Chandra Amatya, chief secretary Leelamani Poudyal and prime minister Sushil Koirala’s chief personal secretary Basanta Kumar Gautam welcomed Hasina at the podium constructed to welcome the dignitaries.
At the summit, Bangladesh will stress cooperation on development of youth force, poverty alleviation, connectivity, South Asian Free Trade Area, service sector and climate change. Emphasis will also be given on prevention of terrorism, food security, women empowerment, energy and technology, officials said.
Dhaka will also stress timely implementation of the decisions made at the last summits to make the eight-nation forum dynamic for welfare of the common people in the region, the officials said.
SAARC foreign ministers on Tuesday discussed three draft deals — Motor Vehicle Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic, SAARC Regional Agreement on Railways and SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity).
As the council of ministers continued discussions on the deals, Bangladesh foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali told New Age that there was a possibility of reaching a consensus on the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity).
The rest two agreements might require more discussions and might not be signed at this summit, he said.
Despite having good prospect of a market of 1.7 billion people, regional trade has not increased much. The current volume of intra-SAARC trade is less than 5 per cent of the total trade of South Asia, while volume of ASEAN trade is 26 per cent and EU trade 45 per cent.
On the sidelines of the summit, the SAARC leaders will seize the opportunity to hold bilateral talks to resolve their outstanding issues. Foreign secretary Shahidul Haque said that Hasina would hold bilateral talks with a number of leaders.
Nepal prime minister Sushil Koirala will inaugurate the summit at the magnificent City Hall at 9:30am after declaration of opening of the summit by outgoing chairman Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, also Maldives president.
Gayoom will propose Nepalese prime minister Koirala for the chairmanship of SAARC after the summit recommends the agenda for discussion. The proposal will then be approved by all heads of state or government of the member countries.
Representatives of SAARC observers — Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Korea, Mauritius, United States of America and European Union — are also expected to address the inaugural session.
On the second day of the summit, the SARRC leaders will go on a retreat on Wednesday at Dhulikhel and a closing session will be held in the afternoon to adopt a ‘Kathmandu declaration.’
Source: Newage