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| Saturday, 3 January 2004 |
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Spirit of cooperation permeates SAARC Ministerial Meet by Uditha Kumarasinghe in Islamabad Pakistan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Masood Khan said a spirit of cooperation and understanding on promotion of regional cooperation permeated the deliberations of the SAARC Council of Ministers commenced at the Hotel Marriott, Islamabad yesterday'. The third segment of the SAARC Summit process began yesterday (January 2) with the session of the Council of Ministers. The opening session had a rich ambience. The SAARC Ministers had two meetings, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, Khan told reporters last night. He said in accordance with SAARC protocol, the Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was elected as the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers. All Foreign Ministers expressed confidence in the leadership of Kasuri and expressed their deepest appreciation for the hospitality extended by Pakistan and for the excellent arrangements made for the Summit. The Council of Ministers heard in detailed an analytical report from the SAARC Secretary General on the work of the organisation. Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar as Chairman of the Standing Committee, which concluded its session on Thursday presented a report hilighting several key issues. This report focussed that an agreement was reached to have the SAARC Social Charter signed at the summit. The committee also finalised the text of the Additional Protocol to the SAARC Convention on Supression of terrorism and to clear doubts on the text of the Draft of SAFTA framework agreement. The committee recommended that SAARC Foreign Ministers may sign these agreements during the summit, the spokesman said. He said the council of Ministers also reviewed the progress on SAARC food security reserves. In this context, some new and innovative proposals to eliminate hunger from South Asia were discussed. The Council of Ministers heard the Secretary General's report on the Regional Poverty Profile (RPP) 2003 and decided that a review of RPP will remain a regular feature of all SAARC conferences. The Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) presented its recommendations for a comprehensive stratagy to eradicate poverty from South Asia. The report was approved by the ministers. It was also decided that Finance Ministers of SAARC countries would interact closely to monitor poverty alleviation. The Ministers also focused their attention in the areas of communications, transport, energy, health, child rights, child welfare and preventing and combating trafficking in women and children. The Council of Ministers discussed ways to secure an observer status for SAARC at the United Nations and ways to strengthen cooperation at international forums on issues of common interest to SAARC member states, Khan said. Meanwhile Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the officiating Foreign Minister of Bhutan have held bilateral talks with the Pakistan Foreign Minister and discussed common themes for the SAARC Summit as well as bilateral and regional issues, he said. He said the Council of Ministers conferred the SAARC Youth Award-2002 to Dr.Masil Khan for his outstanding work on "Waste water effluent and its effects on soil." |
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