The Fifteenth Meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation comprising Commerce Secretaries of SAARC Member States was held in the Maldives on 15-16 July 2012 at the invitation of the Government of Maldives. In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary General of SAARC emphasised the importance of the mandate of this high level body which has the mandate to monitor the progress in the trade and economic cooperation and to suggest new ideas for further deepening this cooperation. H.E. Mr. Ahmed Mohamed, Hon’ble Minister of Economic Development, Government of Maldives welcomed the delegates to the Maldives and reiterated the importance of further accelerating the pace of regional economic cooperation and reaffirmed the commitment of the Maldives to the speedier enhancement of economic cooperation under SAARC for regional economic integration.

The Meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr. Yusuf Riza, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development, Government of Maldives. It reviewed the progress in the implementation of its earlier recommendations with regard to South Asian Free Trade Area, reduction in the Sensitive Lists, intra-SAARC trade flows under SAFTA, SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services, harmonisation of standards, establishment of South Asian Regional Standards Organisation, establishment of SAARC Arbitration Council, harmonisation of customs procedures and documentation, cooperation in the fields of statistics, avoidance of double taxation, SAARC Trade Fairs etc. It emphasised the early finalisation of the text of the Draft SAARC Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment. It also made recommendations for developing a road map for a long term vision of regional economic integration in SAARC and for its movement towards South Asian Economic Union. A representative of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry made a presentation giving the perspective of private sector for promotion of intra-SAARC trade and economic cooperation.

The Meeting recognised delays in customs clearance procedures and decided that henceforth electronic copies of specimen signatures and seals of officials authorised to sign SAFTA Certificates of Origin may also be accepted in addition to sending the original copies of such documents in order to save time and to ensure that the consignments are not held up at the customs border points. It also agreed with the proposal of the delegation of Maldives that the scope of the SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters may be expanded for the benefit of all concerned in the region.

Nepal offered to host the Sixteenth Meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation would be held in Nepal in 2013, the exact dates for which would be decided once the dates for the Eighteenth SAARC Summit are announced.

The Fifth Meeting of the SAARC Technical Committee on Women, Youth and Children was held in Kabul from 16-17 July 2011. The Meeting was attended by all the SAARC Member States. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Prof. Sayeda Mojgan Mostafavi, Technical and Policy Deputy Minister of Ministry of Women’s Affairs in her capacity as Leader of the Delegation of Afghanistan and current Chair of the Technical Committee.

The Meeting while following up on its previous decisions, made recommendations for the expeditious implementation of the project proposal which were identified during the previous sessions of the Meeting. To this end, the Meeting agreed to identify Focal Points in each Member State.

To further enhance SAARC’s cooperation with UN Women under the Memorandum of Understanding, the Meeting endorsed SAARC Gender Equality and Empowerment Programme.

The Meeting finalized the In-depth Assessment Report of the implementation of the SAARC Decade of the Rights of Child (2001-2010) and recommended the Secretariat to launch the Assessment Report during the Seventeenth SAARC Summit (Maldives, November 2011).

The Meeting also recommended course of action for revival of SAARC Youth Volunteers’ Programme and for developing SAARC Youth Action Plan

During the visit, the Secretary-General paid a courtesy call on Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 19 June 2012.  During the call-on, the Secretary-General apprised the Prime Minister of the current state of regional cooperation under the auspices of SAARC, with a particular reference to the recommendations of the Seventeenth SAARC Summit and their follow-up. The Prime Minister said Bangladesh attached top priority to regional cooperation in South Asia and considered SAARC as a catalyst for regional cooperation aimed at promoting the welfare of the peoples in the region. 

The Secretary-General also called on Her Excellency Dr. Dipu Moni, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh on 19 June 2012. He thanked the Minister for endorsing his nomination as the eleventh Secretary-General of SAARC. He also briefed the Minister on the ongoing activities of the Association. 

Earlier on 19 June 2012, the Secretary-General called on Ambassador Mustafa Kamal, Acting Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. The Acting Foreign Secretary and the Secretary-General discussed matters pertaining to intra-regional trade and connectivity. They also discussed the imperative to strengthen the SAARC Secretariat.

While in Dhaka, the Secretary-General also visited the SAARC Meteorological Research Centre and SAARC Agriculture Centre. The Secretary-General and the Directors of the two Centres held a wide range of discussions pertaining to their scope of work.

H. E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary-General of SAARC, paid an introductory visit to Sri Lanka from 28 to 30 May 2012.

During the visit, the Secretary-General called on His Excellency Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka on 28 May.  At the meeting, the Secretary-General apprised the President of the status of implementation of the recommendations of the Seventeenth SAARC Summit, with a particular reference to intra-regional trade and connectivity.  The President expressed the unwavering commitment of Sri Lanka to the strengthening of the SAARC process to promote the welfare of the people in the region.

The Secretary-General called on H. E. Niomal Perera, Deputy Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka on 29 May. During the meeting, the Secretary-General briefed the Minister about the ongoing activities of the Association.  

On 28 May, the Secretary-General called on H. E. Mr. Karunathilake Amunugama, Secretary/External Affairs of Sri Lanka. During the meeting, the Secretary-General and the Foreign Secretary reviewed the decisions of the Seventeenth Summit and took stock of progress made in their implementation. At the meeting, the Secretary-General and the Foreign Secretary also discussed the urgent need to strengthen the SAARC Secretariat.

While in Colombo, the Secretary-General met Mr. Sumith Nakandala, Secretary-General (designate) of BIMSTEC on 29 May. The Secretary-General briefed the latter about the role and structure of the SAARC Secretariat, among others.

The Secretary-General paid a visit to the SAARC Cultural Centre on 29 May. During the visit, Mr. G.L.W. Samarasinghe, Director informed the Secretary-General about the ongoing activities of the Centre. The Secretary-General felicitated the Director and his able team for the very useful work being done by the Centre to promote cultural links among the countries in the region.

Earlier on 28 May, the Secretary-General addressed the Inaugural Session of South Asia Follow up Regional Consultation on the UN Study on Violence Against Children hosted by the Government of Sri Lanka. In his Address, he briefly highlighted the initiatives taken by SAARC in  promoting the  cause of children and women in particular.

Directors Mrs. R. D. Rajapakse and Mr. Ibrahim Zuhuree accompanied the Secretary-General to these meetings in Colombo.