Last Updated: May 12, 2010
Speeches
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April 27, 2010
Statement by Hon. Sujata Koirala, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs at the 32nd Session of SAARC Council of Ministers Thimphu, Bhutan, 27 April 2010
Mr. Chairperson,
Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me, first of all, congratulate for your election as the Chairperson of SAARC Council of Ministers and assure you our fullest support in the discharge of your important responsibility. We are confident that under your able guidance, our deliberations will have a successful outcome.
2. I would also like to express our heartfelt thanks for warm and generous hospitality extended to us since our arrival in this beautiful capital city of Bhutan and for excellent arrangements made for the meeting.
3. Our meeting has been taking place at a historical landmark period of SAARC when it is celebrating its silver Jubilee. During this period, SAARC has made important headway to achieve its objectives despites various challenges.
Mr. Chairperson,
4. The challenges that we are facing today are many. One of the emerging challenges has been serious effects of climate change to our people in the region. Climate change and environment protection has been aptly chosen as the main theme of the Summit Meeting of our leaders in Thimphu.
5. Only by collective efforts, we can address serious challenges of climate change and environment degradation that we are facing today. We hope that the Thimphu Summit will come out with strong resolve to address this challenge. In this regard, we have taken initiative to organise a Ministerial Meeting of Mountainous countries in Kathmandu later this year.
6. We also firmly believe that SAARC Convention on Cooperation on Environment, which is being signed during the summit, will go a long way in the field of environmental protection in the region. We are also happy that the Standing Committee has endorsed our proposal to appoint Mr. Appa Sherpa, the legendary Everest Summiteer, as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Change for two years.
7. Our region has been increasingly vulnerable to food shortage owing to adverse effect of climate change. Bringing stability in food price and food security has been a matter of great importance in the face of increasing rise of foodstuffs and depletion of food reserve. The establishment of the SAARC Food Bank and doubling the quantum of share by member states is an important move forward to meet the contingency of food shortage in the region.
Mr. Chairperson,
8. Reduction of poverty and improving the living condition of our people has always been the priority attention of SAARC. We firmly believe that through coordinated national and regional strategies and action plan, we can address the incidence of poverty in our countries and to achieve SAARC Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, we propose to host the Third SAARC Ministerial Meeting on Poverty Alleviation in early part of 2011 in Nepal for mid-term review of SDGs and for future course of actions.
9. The establishment of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF) is an important achievement to move ahead the SAARC process. We congratulate the Royal Government of Bhutan for hosting the Permanent Secretariat of SDF and the appointment of Mr. Karma as its first CEO. We hope that SDF will soon embark on regional/sub-regional projects directly benefiting the people by opening its social and infrastructure windows. We also feel that while selecting the projects by the Fund, priority needs to be given to need-based and self-sustaining projects, with special focus to countries with limited domestic resources to fund such projects.
10. We welcome the establishment of South Asian University (SAU), which is yet another example of SAARC collaboration, with far reaching vision. We hope that when it takes full shape, the SAU will be a world class academic institution, attracting prominent academicians, researchers and brilliant students from the SAARC region and beyond.
Mr. Chairperson,
11. Nepal strongly believes that in order to boost intra-regional trade, we must substantially bring down the sensitive lists and remove non-tariff and para-tariff barriers as well as strengthen trade facilitation measures particularly for enhancing trade of LDCs and land-locked member states. We should also take into account the important contribution of services sector in the overall trade volume of SAARC member states. The signing of the SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services will be another important achievement of the Summit to bring this sector within SAFTA framework.
12. Nepal attaches great importance for the development of multi-modal transport system, such as highways, railroads, and connection by air for the smooth movement of goods and people among our countries. The proposed SAARC Agreement on Motor Vehicle and Railways needs to be finalised early so as to provide effective mechanism for smooth physical movement among the SAARC countries. As tourism plays important role for greater people to people interaction in the region, we would be very glad to organise the Third SAARC Ministerial Meeting in Kathmandu in early part of 2011, to coincide with the Nepal Tourism Year.
Mr. Chairperson,
13. We also believe that growing energy demand in the region can be met in the most cost effective manner by harnessing both renewable and non-renewable sources of energy, by creating regional grids for their efficient distribution and by establishment of regional/sub regional power markets.
14. Social issues, especially relating to welfare of women and children have been receiving increased focus in various SAARC forums. We are worried by growing incidence of trafficking of innocent women and children and force them in vice trade. In order to address this menace, we should redouble our efforts by scaling up awareness programme, and by strict punitive measures against human traffickers by all member states.
Mr. Chairperson,
15. Before I conclude, I would like to stress that time has come to give SAARC process a new vigour and fresh momentum in tune of the emerging realities. I wish to reiterate that Nepal is fully committed to work together with other member states of SAARC in this pursuit.
16. I thank you Mr. Chairperson.
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