Implementing SAARC programs:

Sri Lanka plays leadership role

SAARC, having identified its priorities and put its institutional infrastructure in place, now faces the challenge of rapid and effective implementation for the benefit of all its people, External Affairs Minister Professor G L Peiris said in Thimpu, Bhutan.

He was addressing the 33rd session of the SAARC Council of Ministers in the Himalayan Kingdom.

Prof Peiris recalled that the theme of the 16th Summit of SAARC Heads of State and Government, held in Bhutan a few months ago, was Climate Change – Towards a Green and Happy South Asia.

The Sri Lankan Government has taken several measures at national level for the implementation of the Thimpu Statement on Climate Change, he said. “This includes the launching of a campaign to plant 1.1 million trees in November 2010, to mark the commencement of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term in office. In fact, the campaign far exceeded its target and resulted in the planting of 3.5 million trees islandwide,” the Minister said.

As a former Vice-Chancellor, Prof Peiris welcomed with enthusiasm the concept of the South Asian University, a flagship project of SAARC, which will soon become fully operational. “As a nation with a uniquely proud record of human resource development, with special reference to achievements in education, Sri Lanka will participate fully in this project to ensure that the fledgling university will evolve in due course into an academic institution of excellence which will be a repository of South Asian values, competence and solidarity, in the region and beyond.”

Minister Peiris recalled the proposal by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the last Summit held in Thimpu, to take steps to convene a conclave of SAARC Parliamentarians as early as possible.

Such a meeting, he said, in fact assumes heightened importance in the context of renewed interest in democracy and people’s participation in governance worldwide as well as the need to involve youth leaders in evolving policies, at both national and international level.

The Minister added that Sri Lanka will convene an Expert Group Meeting in Colombo in September this year, to work out modalities for the establishment of this conclave.

He said that Sri Lanka remains committed to the eradication of terrorism from the region and is firmly revolved to work with all concerned to consolidate gains and to focus on areas that require further attention.

He welcomed recent innovative legislation in Bangladesh and the proposal by the Maldives to develop principles of the modern law relating to maritime security and piracy.

Sri Lanka attaches the greatest importance to inter-regional connectivity. Greater connectivity in the region is essential to promote intra-regional trade which is still low, despite operationalization of SAFTA. Greater connectivity is also essential for improving intra-regional tourism for which there is tremendous untapped potential, the Minister said.

South Asian nations must make greater effort to facilitate freer air travel and remove barriers to surface transport to promote connectivity, Prof Peiris said.

He extended Sri Lanka’s support for the proposal by the Maldives for an Indian Ocean Cargo and Passenger Ferry Service.

In keeping with the overall spirit of enhancing people-to-people contact, Prof Peiris urged regular review of the revised guidelines on the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme. The Minister noted that the Programing Committee has approved 212 meetings and activities to be held from now until the 17th Summit in the Maldives in November this year. This indicates an enhanced dynamism in SAARC. The SAARC process, as a whole, has gained maturity and is now engaged in addressing wider economic and developmental challenges of the region.

He said: “During the last 25 years we have established the necessary institutional mechanisms and entered into Agreements that are necessary for furthering regional co-operation. What is now required is increased focus on effective implementation”.

An event of special important for Sri Lanka took place during the meeting. The Council of Ministers conferred the ‘SAARC Youth Award 2010’ on Anoka Primrose Abeyarathne of Sri Lanka, who had been selected for the Award from among women candidates in the entire SAARC region, for her work in the area of ‘Protection of the Environment and Mitigating Effects of Climate Change’ – the theme selected for the Award.

The SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in Bhutan was attended by the Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives and the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and Nepal.