The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Foreign Advisor Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury yesterday said the 15th SAARC Summit in Colombo was "productive for the region's peoples" and that Bangladesh, under the leadership of Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed "made a significant contribution to its outcome."

Iftekhar who returned to Dhaka from Colombo this evening said the Summit made advances on four key issues-food security, energy, trade and climate change, all of which are priority for Bangladesh. Programs related to all four were approved.

Besides, he said several new agreements were signed, primary among which were the South Asian Development Fund (SDF) Charter, and the South Asian Standard Organization (SARSO), whose headquarters would be located in Dhaka.

Iftekhar said the Chief Adviser raised two new issues: one was the need for a common strategy to negotiate the welfare and protect the rights of South Asian migrant workers in the other parts of the world, and the second one was the proposal to set up a mechanism for interaction between senior military officers in the region.

He said the South Asian countries also endorsed Bangladesh's candidacy for membership of the UN Security Council in 2015. "Similarly we endorsed Maldives for 2018. This idea of common candidacy is a new and positive development in SAARC," he sid.

Iftekhar said the Chief Adviser held bilateral meetings with each one of the eight leaders attending. Each of these meetings led to useful outcomes, "he added.

The Advisor said this was also an important year in the sense that many SAARC nations are undergoing major constitutional and political transformations. Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives are among them.

"We ourselves will be holding elections in December. The meeting provided us an occasion to exchange experiences and learn from one another, "Iftekhar said.

The Advisor said "South Asia is seen as politically a major force in global politics. That is why a large number of countries and organizations are keen to join as observer. We already have on the list European Union, the US, Japan, China, South Korea, Iran, Mauritius, Australia, and Myanmar. We have now decided to put a three year moratorium on fresh membership and are drawing up a set of modalities in that correction."

He said "it is true that the development of SAARC is not spectacular. That is understandable given the nature of our history. But the future is bright and I have every confidence that the future belongs to South Asia."

Iftekhar said "every achievement of SAARC fills Bangladesh with pride as it is Bangladesh which conceived the idea that led to the establishment of this body."