A regional reservoir of resources:
‘Govt to support SAARC chamber initiatives’
Ravi LADDUWAHETTY
External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris, on Thursday, assured the
support of the government of Sri Lanka for all initiatives of the SAARC
Chamber of Commerce and noted that the time was opportune for South
leaders of the SAARC to unite to sort out the drawbacks of the region in
its way forward.
Minister Prof G L Peiris |
He also requested the governments of the region to reflect on what is
best for the region so that it could move forward, fulfilling
aspirations.
He was addressing the one day seminar themed: “Regional Connectivity
in South Asia: Prospects for Cooperation in Transport and Communication”
organized jointly by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the
Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka at the
Galle Face Hotel on Thursday.
Earlier, the events were preceded by the Minister and SAARC Chamber
dignitaries lighting the traditional oil lamp which not only declared
the ceremony open, but also symbolized the illumination of the
predominant futuristic role that connectivity played in a region, home
to a fifth of mankind.
Continuing, Prof Peiris, also said that it was also prudent for SAARC
to create a buffer stock of food aimed an ensuring that there were no
shortage of essential foods with fluctuating global prices and added
that the SAARC region was a granary which was capable of growing or
manufacturing all the food that it needed.
“SAARC is a reservoir of resources and all these resources are
intertwined,” he said. Then the vulnerability of South Asian nations
would be protected and buffer stocks of food, rice, wheat and sugar
would insulate the economies of these countries, he said.
He said that the priorities of the region were: Food security, energy
security and the need for combating terrorism.
Commenting on the merging of synergies, he said that Nepal, with its
hydropower resources and water ways , would be able to produce excess
hydro power and supply to the rest of the region while Sri Lanka would
supply fruits and vegetables to Maldives which was a tourism driven
economy while imparting its professional knowledge in areas such as
nursing.
He said that the seminar was not meant to one of symbolic
significance, resorting to platitudes and generalities, but to focus on
concrete issues to determine how to proceed further.
He also said that the significance of the region’s growth and in some
countries topping 8 percent in 2010 was paramount in the light of
developed countries reporting a 2.5% growth while the global growth was
4.5%. “ many countries in the region have reported growth rates of over
8%, he said.
He said that the high level visits of the regional leaders paved the
way for regional linkages and the highlight of these visits opened
linkages and communication among the trade chambers as well.
“Whenever I meet the officials of the state, I always make it a point
for the need for the closer collaboration between the chambers of
commerce of these countries. That, to me, was the striking feature of
these visits, he said.
“The government of Sri Lanka has explicitly recognized the value of
these visits,” he said.
He also quoted the “Economist” magazine which said that Sri Lankan
born businessmen now living and working overseas had remitted US$ 4
billion back home when they had the option of investing those funds in
lush world capitals.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zadari had also expressed warm feelings
about the developments in post war Sri Lanka and articulated in no
uncertain terms of his resolve about Pakistan’s resolve of developing
commercial relationships with Sri Lanka and he has made available US$
200 million for the Pakistan private sector for investing in Sri Lanka,
Prof Peiris said.
He said that the tourism of the region could also be fostered with
25% of the 2.5 billion tourists that Sri Lanka was targeting by 2015
were coming from India and that Sri Lanka could jointly organize
sandwich tours for European tourists in collaboration with Nepal for
tours of the Himalayas. |