The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Colombo

SAARC Foreign Secretaries concluded their 2-day meeting here Wednesday with set of recommendations, including one for starting negotiation on trade in services under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) deal.

Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain, who led Bangladesh at the meeting, told reporters that the SAARC Standing Committee (comprising Foreign Secretaries) meeting also recommended that the SAARC Commerce Ministers at their next meeting in Male take steps to reduce the negative lists of the member-states to expedite intra-SAARC trade.

He said the Standing Committee stressed making the SAARC Food Bank operational as soon as possible to assist any member-states in emergency situation. The Food Bank will be set up with initial reserve of 241,000 metric tons of food-grains.

The Colombo summit of the forum will issue a separate statement on the Food Security considering the importance of the issue. The meeting emphasized research and development in the agriculture sector to boost production.

The SAARC Foreign Secretaries also recommended signing the charter of South Asian Development Fund (SDF) with a paid-up capital of USD 207 million to finance projects relating to poverty alleviation in member-countries.

Touhid said Sri Lanka proposed to set up a Regional Economic Unit to coordinate various issues in the field.

He said the Standing Committee agreed to sign SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters providing for cooperation among the member-states in dealing with criminals who sneak from one member-state into another.

The Standing Committee recommended accession of new member Afghanistan to SAFTA as an LDC.

Touhid said the Standing Committee recommended providing SAARC Observer status to Australia and Myanmar. Presently, China, Japan , South Korea , Iran , Mauritius , the United States and the European Union enjoy the Observer status.

The Standing Committee also recommended the draft declaration of the 15th SAARC summit as Colombo Declaration to be announced on the concluding day of the summit on August 3.

These recommendations will be discussed and finalized by the SAARC Council of Ministers comprising Foreign Ministers who will meet tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday to do the final preparatory work for the summit.