Terrorism and Global Financial meltdown
Twin challenges before SAARC:
*******
The speech made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa
at the SAARC Foreign Ministers conference in Colombo, yesterday,
February 27, 2009.
********
The presence of Ministers from all SAARC Member States and the
Secretary General of SAARC on this occasion, provides us with an
invaluable opportunity to review the implementation of the content of
the 15th SAARC Summit Declaration and to discuss modalities for making
further progress including on matters of current concern.
Regional Cooperation in South Asia has matured. Our eight Member
States of SAARC, as manifested at the last Summit, are fully committed
to work together and are conscious of our potential, but we must stand
together. We have agreed that it is time that we broad base the
activities of SAARC. Therefore the Colombo Declaration was aptly titled
‘Partnership for Growth for Our People’.
Partnership
This partnership with our people must continue in such a manner that
we reach out to the people in the remotest villages of our countries.
President Mahinda Rajapakse addresses
the SAARC Council of Ministers. |
There is untapped strength and vigour in the villages that can become
a catalytic force for greater regional cooperation. The villages where
most of our people live cannot be left behind as they have a lot more to
offer to national and regional development.
At the last Summit, we focused, among others, on several key issues
of importance for our region such as Energy, Environment, Water
Resources, Poverty Reduction, ICT Development, Science and Technology,
Tourism, Education, Women and Children, and most importantly, terrorism.
We signed the Charter of the SAARC Development Fund, which is a
landmark achievement to underpin our efforts towards regional
development. We emphasised the importance of SAFTA and trade
facilitation, as well as trade in services for greater integration of
our economies. We agreed on the imperative to make steady progress on
the implementation of the SAARC Social Charter to promote social
well-being of our people. In all these efforts, we have highlighted the
importance of connectivity at all levels, so that we can work as one
SAARC family.
Summit Declaration
I thank you for your efforts in implementing the content of the
fifteenth Summit Declaration. And, I wish to place on record my
appreciation for the special efforts taken by all of you in taking steps
to accelerate the implementation of the Colombo Statement on Food
Security, including making the SAARC Food Bank a reality.
I am confident that as we meet at this mid-point of Sri Lanka ‘s
chairmanship of our regional organisation, you will review and
re-evaluate as to how best we could implement our agreed programme of
action, in accordance with the ideals and objectives of SAARC. In this
regard, let me express my profound appreciation of the SAARC Secretariat
in Kathmandu and Secretary General, Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma for co-ordinating
the efforts of all our member States, with a view to promoting greater
cohesion and more meaningful regional initiatives.
We, in the region of South Asia, today face several common
challenges. Common challenges require collective responses. Terrorism is
such a challenge and it requires our immediate and united attention due
to the impact it has on all of us, in one way or another.
Evil force
Our societies bear the brunt of the evil force of terrorism. But, we
cannot and should not allow even a single citizen of South Asia to
suffer as a result of the brutal violence un-leashed by terrorists.
Therefore, we need to re-double our efforts to combat this menace
individually and collectively. We cannot shy away from taking firm and
forceful action to combat terrorism, including internationally. We,
among other measures, should uphold democracy, support each other’s
democracies and make it a vehicle towards defeating terrorism.
In this regard, I recognise that in the SAARC region, and in
multi-lateral fora like the United Nations, we have agreed on a series
of measures as to how to combat terrorism in line with accepted
universal values and standards.
The time has come to re-dedicate ourselves to fully implement such
agreed measures. We must not hesitate to go further towards taking
innovative action in combating terrorism to make our societies, our
cities, and our villages safe for our people to live in.
Our rich cultures cannot be allowed to be riddled by the curse of
terrorism. I hope this ministerial meeting will be able to give further
direction on this important current issue for people in this region.
Let me now address another common challenge to our region and to the
world. It has now become clear that the financial meltdown that began in
the sub-prime market in the US will have a profound trickle-down effect
in our economies as a result of our increasing links with the global
financial and economic system.
Lack of confidence in the global financial system is affecting
financial and non-financial institutions, both directly and indirectly.
The depression in the commodity market is adversely affecting most of
us, even negating the gains resulting from the declining oil prices.
Trade flows, production lines and the service sector are suffering from
the domino effect of this crisis and there are looming liquidity
problems.
Counter measures
Unless definite counter measures are taken, this downward spiral has
the potential to adversely affect our economies and impact on the living
standards of our people. While we in South Asia can take comfort that
economies of our countries are so far functioning well, and financial
sectors have been well-regulated and stable, we cannot take for granted
that we are fully insulated from the on-going global economic crisis.
In fact, the instability caused by this crisis can be considered
quite similar to the threat caused by terrorism to our societies and to
our region. The effects of synchronised slow-down in developed
economies, can reach us sooner than later. And, as the crisis deepens in
the developed world, it is likely that protectionist sentiments can
spread and even take root.
Regional economies
Therefore, it is imperative that we think regionally as to how we
could help each other. We need to strengthen the regional economies and
consolidate our bilateral trade and our financial systems, so that as a
region, we remain strong.
Such an approach will not only promote the economic well being of our
people, but will also help us to bring about and sustain peace and
stability in the region.
Therefore, at this point in time, we need to explore how we could
provide a stable economic environment for our people in the face of this
global challenge. For this purpose, I re-emphasise the importance of
regional initiatives. And in this regard, I am reminded of the success
in our adjacent region, East Asia, which during the East Asian financial
crisis, created a network of bilateral swap arrangements and have now
created a reserve fund to address liquidity problems in the region.
We should look for global solutions as well. And for this purpose,
let our collective voice be heard at international financial fora,
seeking positive responses from multi-lateral agencies and international
financial institutions to support our efforts through special proactive
initiatives, such as stand still arrangements for at least one year.
Such arrangements could also be flexible enough so that at the end of
one year, these could be reviewed and extended if the global financial
crisis would still exist.
Our region, which is home to one fifth of the world population richly
deserves such consideration by the international and multi-lateral
financial institutions so that developmental initiatives towards
reducing poverty and improving quality of life of our people will not
have to be abruptly stopped.
I hope you will discuss these two common challenges and concerns
during your important meeting and come up with suggestions and ideas
that not only we can adopt locally and regionally, but take them forward
internationally as well.
Great potential
The outcome of your efforts will add value to your mandated tasks at
the inter-sessional meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers. People in
our region expect nothing less and I am sure you will answer their call.
SAARC is an organisation with great potential. We need to use this
vehicle to collectively marshal latent forces in the region for our
progress, which is after all our common goal. As a region that is heir
to several great civilizations that had led human social and economic
advancement in the past, taking collective action for the greater good
of our region is not beyond our reach. But, we have to muster the
necessary political will, which I am sure is within our reach. |