[China] Members call for poverty alleviation on SAARC summit

From Xinhua Net

DHAKA, Nov. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia Saturday stressed the need for mobilizing all necessary human and material resources of South Asian nations for poverty alleviation in the region and proposed declaring the coming 2006-2015 as "the SAARC Decade for Poverty Alleviation."

In her welcome address to the inaugural session of the 13th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit in Dhaka, Khaleda Zia, who was elected as chairperson of SAARC in the session, said that in the last SAARC summit held in Islamabad in 2004, all member states recognized alleviation of poverty as the over arching goal of all SAARC activities. "We must mobilize all necessary human and material resources" to address the poverty on a regional scale, she said.

Widespread incidence of poverty continues to be a major concern for the South Asian nations. Intra-regional trade in South Asia is still about 4 percent of the region's combined trade with the rest of the world. Foreign direct investment in the region accounts for a mere one percent of the global total.

Terming accelerating economic growth as major SAARC objective, the prime minister said all member states must ensure that the SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Area) Agreement enters into force as agreed upon with effect from Jan. 1, 2006.

She also called for a common investment strategy to generate investment flows from within and outside the region.

As natural disasters presented a new challenge to the region, Khaleda Zia said, a regional response should be developed to face the disasters such as tsunami, floods, earthquakes, cyclones.

On combating terrorism, she said that the last SAARC summit adopted an Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention, so as to deal effectively with the financing of terrorism. Four countries including Bangladesh have ratified the protocol.

She urged the remaining members of the regional forum to expedite their ratification so that the protocol can enter into force at an early date, if possible by the end of the year.

Terming South Asia as an emerging economic giant with unlimited potential, the prime minister said, "Realizing South Asia's true potential is the challenge facing us today."

The prime minster said the ongoing 13th SAARC Summit enables the South Asian nations "to look to the future and forge a blueprint for the next phase of SAARC activities."