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President tells SAARC Foreign Ministers:
Financial crisis similar to terror threat
Rohan MATHES
The instability caused by the global financial crisis can be
considered quite similar to the threat caused by terrorism to our
societies and to our region, President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the
SAARC Foreign Ministers Conference in Colombo said yesterday.
“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,” he added.
On the global financial melt down, President Rajapaksa further said:
“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.
“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 ongoing global economic crisis.”
Stressing on the need to re-double our efforts to combat the menace
of terrorism individually and collectively the President said: “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.”
The President briefly outlined a host of key issues for the region,
pursued at the last summit in Colombo, including energy, environment,
water resources, poverty alleviation, ICT development, Science and
Technology, tourism, education, women and children and the most
important ‘Terrorism’.
In all these endeavors, he reiterated, we have highlighted the
importance of connectivity at all levels, so that we could work as one
SAARC family.
He also expressed his profound gratitude and appreciation to the
SAARC, in their effort in accelerating the implementation of the Colombo
Statement on Food Security, inclusive of making the Food Bank a reality.
Making the welcome remarks at the ceremony, Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagamma pointed out that under the leadership of President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, the SAARC possessed a people-centric vision to pursue common
objectives and goals for regional cooperation within the SAARC
countries.
He outlined briefly the programs under way and the progress of the
eight-member SAARC organisation, with special emphasis on a world free
of terrorism, progress made on the issue of Food Security, the
Development Fund, the establishment of the Standards Organisation and
the SAARC university among others. He also briefed on the role of the
Observers in the SAARC.
SAARC Secretary General Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma stated that their
energies should be focussed on actioning agreed policies and the
approaches to ‘Poverty Alleviation’, the foremost goal of SAARC.
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