It is a great pleasure to extend warm greeting and best wishes to the people of the South Asia Region on the occasion of the 21st Anniversary of the founding of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). I firmly believe that it is a time to introspect into the noble objectives of SAARC and to reassert ourselves to the lofty ideals of the regional body as envisaged in the Charter.
From the time of its inception, SAARC has been continuously striving to meet the hopes and aspirations of the people of South Asia by mobilizing available resources in the region. It has chalked out pertinent plans, programmes and strategies to capitalize on the existing complementarities and inherent strengths. Burning issues of the region such as poverty eradication, promotion of wider and deeper economic cooperation, social development, preservation of the environment and combating terrorism are being addressed progressively. After traversing more than two decades of journey, SAARC is poised to deliver results that is coveted by one fifth of the humanity of the world, constituting the population of the region. It calls for bolder initiatives and concrete action, further unity of purpose and cooperative resolve to implement all relevant programmes, including those in the core economic areas.
South Asia has a huge potential, which is, unfortunately, marred by the debilitating effect of poverty. Improving the quality of life of the people and promoting collective welfare should therefore need focused attention as well as an urgent action.
The SAFTA Agreement that came into effect from the beginning of this year is certainly a milestone in the free trade arrangements, which will lead to deeper economic integration and more even spread of opportunities in the region. The implementation of SAFTA will direct the organization to the realization of ultimate goal of South Asian Economic Union in a planned manner.
As SAARC comes of age, it is heartening to note that more countries and regional organizations are taking interest in forging deeper cooperation and collaboration with us in achieving common goals. It is definitely a growth in the visibility of the SAARC process from within and without. We need to take pride in our common heritage and the common future that we are going to forge.
On this happy occasion, let us rededicate ourselves to advance the SAARC goals and objectives as enshrined in its Charter by exerting our willpower for collective action.