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Shaukat calls for moving toward conflict resolution

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz urged the South Asian leaders to renew their faith in Saarc's noble vision of promoting peace and development in political and economic spheres in the region.
“We should build on areas of convergence, minimise divergences and most of all seek to augment complementarities for the greater good of the people of this region. We need to help each other to help ourselves,” said the Pakistani premier also the outgoing chairperson of Saarc, as
he inaugurated the 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka yesterday.
Identifying political disputes and tensions in the region as the prime impediment to Saarc's success he said members of the regional organisation have remained embroiled in conflict management. “We need to move towards conflict resolution.”
He observed, while other Asian countries, especially those in Asean, have forged robust cooperation for development, Saarc has been shy to reach out to other regional organisations and to the world. He called upon
the Saarc countries for joining the Asian mainstream of development.
“We must adopt an inclusive approach and (be) open to interaction especially with our larger Asian neighbourhood. We need to create linkage and interdependencies ensuring a win-win for all,” he said.
“As we look at the twenty years of Saarc, we can not escape the conclusion that South Asia lags behind its larger Asian neighbourhood, in terms of economic and social advancement.”
He expressed determination to make Saarc a more vibrant and effective body of cooperation for development and progress in the region.
The Pakistani premier offered a set of recommendations that include expansion and intensification of economic and commercial cooperation, promotion of cooperation in the field of energy, cooperation in joint projects to alleviate poverty, and to promote health, education and agriculture, improvement of infrastructure, especially region-wide transportation and communications links, and greater cooperation and coordination in monetary and fiscal policies of the Saarc member states.
He referred to the Social Charter adopted in the 12th Islamabad Saarc Summit and emphasised that opportunities must be seized to ensure that South Asia is put on a fast track to development. He said considerable work has been accomplished since the “landmark Islamabad summit” and urged to sustain that momentum.
He also said Pakistan as the chair of Saarc has made concerted efforts toward regional cooperation and development and assured to continue the efforts in future to bring the peoples of the region closer to each other.
Shaukat Aziz expressed satisfaction over the improvement in political atmosphere in South Asia and said it had a positive impact on Saarc. He stressed the need for making Saarc a symbol of its people's determination to promote peace, progress and stability in the region.
He said Saarc has started gaining a new confidence and its international profile has been enhanced considerably.
He acknowledged that the association has received an application from Afghanistan for membership and a request from China to be associated with it either as a dialogue partner or as an observer.
He said the requests have been deliberated in the standing committee and the council of ministers have referred them to the summit for a final decision. “ Pakistan looks forward to welcome its neighbour and brotherly country Afghanistan to our Saarc family. Pakistan also welcomes the interest shown by our friend and neighbouring China to be associated with Saarc.”
The Pakistani premier also said he is confident that the Dhaka Summit will prove to be a great success and will become an important landmark in cooperation among the Saarc members and for the association's expansion.
Referring to the recent Tsunami in the region and the recent earthquake in Pakistan and in Indian Kashmir, he expressed his condolences to the peoples and governments of the Saarc countries for the loss of lives and properties. He reaffirmed solidarity with the countries that have suffered from the disasters and urged the Saarc members to pledge for joint effort in rehabilitation and reconstruction.