President reaffirms Lanka’s firm commitment
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s firm and
continued commitment to SAARC and its objectives.
President Rajapaksa in a message to mark SAARC’s 25th anniversary
said: “Today, we in South Asia commemorate the 25th anniversary of the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and I have the
pleasure on this occasion to extend warm greetings and best wishes of
the Government and people of Sri Lanka to the Governments and people of
South Asia.
As I stated on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee Summit in Thimphu
in April this year, our hallmark and indeed our strength is our
collective identity, promoted and strengthened by over two decades of
regional cooperation within the SAARC framework. This identity has been,
and remains to be, a crucial factor in forging closer links among our
governments and more importantly, amongst our people. As SAARC
commemorates its twenty-fifty year, we must all take pride in the
efforts since 1985 to build our Association. We now stand on the
threshold of our continued onward journey towards the next generation of
cooperative efforts.
”As we observe the 25th anniversary of SAARC, we must resolve to work
diligently towards the noble goals that we have set for ourselves.
We must take bold steps to address the challenges before us which
include translating our decisions and agreements into action and finding
ways and means of enabling free movement of people, goods, services and
ideas within South Asia to build a more prosperous region for the
benefit of our people. “I reaffirm on this occasion, Sri Lanka’s firm
and continued commitment to SAARC and its objective.”
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