ISLAMABAD DECLARATION
TWELFTH SAARC SUMMIT
ISLAMABAD
4-6 JANUARY 2004
We, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh,
Begum Khaleda Zia, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan, Lyonpo Jigmi
Yoezer Thinley, the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee,
the President of the Republic of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the Prime Minister
of the Kingdom of Nepal, Surya Bahadur Thapa, the Prime Minister of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and the President of the Democratic
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga:
Having met at the Twelfth Summit
meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Islamabad,
Pakistan on 4-6 January 2004;
Guided by the vision of a peaceful
and prosperous South Asia and proud of its rich culture and traditions;
Deeply conscious of the growing interdependence
within and amongst nations and regions in an increasingly globalizing world;
Desirous of promoting peace, stability,
amity and progress in the region through strict adherence to the principles
of the United Nations Charter and Non-Alignment, particularly respect for the
principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence,
non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of the states
and peaceful settlement of all disputes;
Reaffirming the centrality of SAARC
for promoting regional cooperation and emphasizing the need to enhance its efficacy;
Strongly reaffirming our commitment
to the objectives, principles and provisions of the Charter of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC);
Declare that:
Regional Cooperation
Economic
1. We renew our commitment to the objectives and principles
of SAARC and pledge to reinvigorate cooperation to realize peace, amity, progress
and prosperity of all peoples of South Asia.
2. We affirm our determination to create an inclusive, just
and equitable partnership for peace, development and prosperity. Satisfactory
progress has been made in the SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA).
The signing of the Framework Agreement on the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)
is a major milestone. It is important to maintain this momentum and move towards
further broadening of economic cooperation and to ensure equitable distribution
of benefits of trade and cater to the special needs of the small and LDC Member
States by providing them special and deferential treatment.
3. We reiterate our commitment made at the 11th SAARC Summit
at Kathmandu in January 2002 for the creation of a South Asian Economic Union.
In this context, we underline that creation of a suitable political and economic
environment would be conducive to the realization of this objective.
4. A study on creating a South Asian Energy Cooperation including
the concept of an Energy Ring should be undertaken by the Working Group on Energy.
5. For accelerated and balanced economic growth it is essential
to strengthen transportation, transit and communication links across the region.
6. Public and private sector cooperation, particularly joint
ventures, holds great promise. It is important to move towards project cooperation
under SAARC. Prospects for setting up of a South Asian Development Bank should
be examined by the SAARCFINANCE and report through the Council of Ministers.
7. Priority attention should also be given to the need for
harmonization of standards, simplification of custom procedures, as well as
cooperation among the central banks.
8. Development of tourism within South Asia could bring economic,
social and cultural dividends. There is a need for increasing cooperation to
jointly promote tourism within South Asia as well as to promote South Asia as
a tourism destination, inter alia, by improved air links. To achieve
this and to commemorate the twentieth year of the establishment of SAARC, the
year 2005 is designated as "South Asia Tourism Year", for the success
of which, each member would individually and jointly organize special events.
9. SAARC members should continue to safeguard their collective
interests in multilateral forums by discussing, coordinating and exchanging
information with a view to adopting common positions, where appropriate, on
various issues.
Poverty Alleviation
10. We recognise poverty alleviation as the greatest challenge
facing the peoples of South Asia and declare poverty alleviation as the overarching
goal of all SAARC activities. It is imperative to relate regional cooperation
to the actual needs of the people.
11. Provision of basic needs, promotion of literacy, and better
health care are regional priorities. It is important to undertake effective
and sustained poverty reduction programmes through pro-poor growth strategies
and other policy interventions with specific sectoral targets.
12. The Plan of Action on Poverty Alleviation, prepared by
the meeting of Finance and Planning Ministers in Islamabad in 2002, is hereby
approved.
13. The reconstituted Independent South Asian Commission for
Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) has done commendable work. An effective strategy
should be devised to implement suggestions made in its Report "Our Future
Our Responsibility". In this context, ISACPA should continue in an advocacy
role. It should prepare and submit to the next SAARC summit a comprehensive
and realistic blue-print setting out SAARC Development Goals for the next five
years in the areas of poverty alleviation, education, health and environment
giving due regard, among others, to the suggestions made in the ISACPA report.
14. The SAARC Secretariat should periodically update and submit
Regional Poverty Profiles.
15. SAARC should continue to collaborate with international
organizations and UN agencies in the field of poverty alleviation. Arrangements
for SAARC Food Security Reserve should be made more effective. We also recommend
the establishment of a Regional Food Bank for which a concept paper should be
prepared.
16. Investment in human resources is critical for future development
of South Asia. It is, therefore, essential to establish a network of centres
of higher learning and training, and Skill Development Institutes (SDIs) across
South Asia. In this context, the role of the SAARC Human Resource Development
Centre (SHRDC) is important.
Science and Technology
17. Strengthening of scientific and technological co-operation
across the region is fundamental to accelerating the pace of economic and social
development. Sharing of scientific and technological expertise, joint research
and development and industrial application of higher technology should be encouraged
and facilitated.
Social Issues
18. We hail the signing of the SAARC Social Charter as a historic
development, which would have a far-reaching impact on the lives of millions
of South Asians. Issues covered under the Charter, such as poverty alleviation,
population stabilization, empowerment of women, youth mobilization, human resource
development, promotion of health and nutrition, and protection of children are
keys to the welfare and well being of all South Asians.
19. Progress has been made in the constitution of SAARC Autonomous
Advocacy Group of Prominent Women Personalities (SAWAG). To enable women to
contribute to the socio-economic development, there is a need for SAARC to encourage
women entrepreneurs in the region.
20. Member States should move towards an early ratification
of the two Conventions on Child Welfare and Trafficking in Women and Children
for Prostitution.
21. Easy and affordable health care, and prevention and treatment
of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other serious communicable diseases are priorities.
The year 2004 is declared as the "SAARC Awareness Year for TB and HIV/AIDS".
The SAARC Secretariat should effectively implement the proposed programmes on
the observance of the SAARC Awareness Year and develop a regional strategy through
a consultative process and collaborate closely with the Joint UN Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other international organizations and civil society.
22. The important initiative taken by the Maldives in hosting
the Emergency Meeting of the SAARC Health Ministers on SARS Epidemic in Male’
on 29 April 2003, was a welcome development.
23. As agreed by the SAARC Health Ministers' Conference held
recently in New Delhi, a SAARC Health Surveillance Centre and a Rapid Deployment
Health Response System should be set up to deal with the emerging and re-emerging
diseases as well as to establish a network between various institutions dealing
with malaria and other vector borne diseases in the Member States. Also, documentation
of traditional knowledge to safeguard Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in
medicine needs attention.
24. The importance of cooperation in medical expertise and
pharmaceuticals as well as in the field of traditional medicine requires elaboration
of a SAARC Plan of Action that should be developed in the shortest possible
time.
Culture
25. We take pride in the rich cultural mosaic of the peoples
of South Asia and underline the need for preservation of traditional skills
and crafts, and promotion of cultural exchanges between nations.
26. We welcome the establishment of a SAARC Cultural Centre
in Kandy, which will serve as a symbol of South Asian shared cultural heritage.
Environment
27. It is important to undertake and reinforce regional cooperation
in the conservation of our water resources and environment, pollution prevention
and control as well as our preparedness to deal with natural calamities. We
welcome the early establishment of the Coastal Zone Management Centre in the
Maldives.
28. The early and effective implementation of the SAARC Environment
Plan of Action is important. We further stress the early submission of country
state of the environment reports to expedite the preparation of a SAARC state
of environment report and the commissioning of the work on drafting a Regional
Environment Treaty.
Combating Terrorism
29. We condemn terrorist violence in all its forms and manifestations
and note that people of South Asia continue to face a serious threat from terrorism.
30. We are convinced that terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations,
is a challenge to all states and to all of humanity, and cannot be justified
on any ground, whatsoever. Terrorism violates the fundamental values of the
United Nations and the SAARC Charter and constitutes one of the most serious
threats to international peace and security. We agree to fully implement the
relevant international conventions to which we are parties.
31. We reaffirm our commitment to the SAARC Regional Convention
on Suppression of Terrorism, which, among others, recognizes the seriousness
of the problem of terrorism as it affects the security, stability, and development
of the region.
32. The signing of the Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional
Convention on Suppression of Terrorism to deal effectively with financing of
terrorism is a further manifestation of our determination to eliminate all forms
and manifestations of terrorism from South Asia.
SAARC Award
33. We welcome the institution of the SAARC Award on the basis
of a concept paper drawn up by His Majesty's Government of Nepal and decide
to present the award during the Summits in future. The Award will honour and
encourage outstanding individuals and organizations within the region in the
fields of peace, development, poverty alleviation, and in other areas of regional
cooperation.
Information and Communication
34. We recognize the vital role that information and media
can play in the promotion of peace, progress and harmony in South Asia. In this
context, the initiatives for introducing regular ‘SAARC Roundup’
and ‘SAARC News’ programmes for telecast and broadcast on National
TV and Radio Channels respectively in Member Countries is a welcome development.
We agree to the establishment of a SAARC Information Centre in Kathmandu.
35. SAARC should endeavour to bring the benefits of information
and communications technology to all peoples of the region, bridging the digital
divide and assist in the development of knowledge based societies.
SAARC Integrated Programme of Action (SIPA)
36. We note with satisfaction the progress achieved in regional
cooperation through SIPA. The commitment to SIPA must be matched by a corresponding
allocation of resources for it.
Strengthening of the SAARC Secretariat
37. We agree to strengthen the capacity of the SAARC Secretariat.
In this regard a Committee comprising of a Member from each Member State should
meet soon and submit its recommendations within three months for consideration
of the next session of the Council of Ministers. The Secretary General would
coordinate the work of the Inter-Governmental Committee. Pending implementation
of the recommendations of the proposed Committee a Poverty Alleviation Cell
at the Secretariat should start functioning with a view to following up the
Summit decisions on poverty alleviation.
Sub-Regional Cooperation
38. We encourage the development of specific projects relevant
to the individual needs of three or more Member States under the provisions
of Articles VII and X of the SAARC Charter.
Inter-Regional Cooperation
39. We express our determination to develop mutually beneficial
links between SAARC and other regional and international organizations, bodies
and entities and agree to establish dialogue partnership with other regional
bodies and with states outside the region, interested in SAARC activities.
Enhancing Political Cooperation
40. We envision South Asia to be a peaceful and stable region
where each nation is at peace with itself and its neighbours and where conflicts,
differences and disputes are addressed through peaceful means and dialogue.
41. We reaffirm our pledge to promote good neighbourly relations
on the basis of the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity
and national independence, non-use of force, non-intervention and non-interference
and peaceful settlement of disputes and recognize the importance of informal
political consultations in promoting mutual understanding and reinforcing confidence
building process among Member States.
Security of Small States
42. We are particularly mindful of the security concerns of
small states that arise, inter alia, from their particular vulnerabilities,
which should be firmly addressed by scrupulous adherence to the UN Charter,
rules of international law and strict adherence to the universally accepted
principles and norms related to sovereign rights and territorial integrity of
all states. This should be ensured by all, both severally and collectively,
through appropriate actions.
43. We endorse the recommendations made by the Council of Ministers
at its Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Sessions.
Thirteenth SAARC Summit
44. We appreciate the offer of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
to host the Thirteenth SAARC Summit in January 2005.
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