Poverty alleviation, economic issues to top SAARC agenda
Poverty alleviation and economic issues will come up as prime agenda in the next week's SAARC summit in Dhaka, reports said quoting a Bangaldeshi official.
"If there is political will, economic integration of South Asia could be made quicker as happened in the case of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations)," Foreign Affairs Advisor at the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry, Reaz Rahman, told correspondents in Dhaka on Friday.
South Asia is the home of maximum number of the poor as well as maximum number of middle class people that underlines the importance of poverty alleviation and enhanced intra-regional trade, which at present is less than four percent, Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper quoted Rahman as saying.
Rahman, who is also the chief coordinator of the 13th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, said the signing of four regional agreements regarding avoidance of double taxation, simplification of customs procedure, protection of promotion of investment and SAARC Arbitration Centre would be a major step towards the economic integration of the region.
He, however, said it is a long way to go for South Asian Economic Union that would require more regional cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, harmonisation of customs, single currency, and so on.
The Dhaka summit will also focus on implementation of social charter, additional protocol to stop financing of terrorism, disaster management with early warning system, strong SAARC secretariat and simplification of visa regime in the region, among others, according to officials.
Rahman said Bangladesh as the next chair of SAARC would emphasise taking up poverty reduction projects coordinating various funds and enhancing intra-regional trade.
"It's true that not a single project on regional basis has been taken up in the last two decades," he said, adding, "There is a feeling among the SAARC member countries that the third decade should be a decade of implementation."
"South Asia is the place where we can do many positive things...we have the potentials and prospects, so time has come to take quick positive moves towards economic integration," he said.
Asked about whether the summit will discuss new membership and giving observer status to other countries, Reaz Rahman said there is no such provision or criteria in the SAARC charter.
Earlier, reports had said the seven member regional body was likely to invite Afghanistan as its new member. nepalnews.com by Nov 05 05
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