VOL.VII, NO.12
DECEMBER 1996
SAARC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETS IN NEW DELHI
THE SEVENTEENTH SESSION of the Council of Ministers was held in New Delhi on 19-20 December 1996 under the chairmanship of Inder Kumar Gujral, Minister of External Affairs of India.
The current Chairperson of SAARC, the Prime Minister of India, H.D. Deve Gowda inaugurated the Session. In his inaugural address, the Prime Minister stressed that the South Asian region cannot remain immune from the logic of collective self-interest and advancement and must, like other regions in the world, endeavour to prosper by opening channels for the flow of goods, services, capital and people.
The Foreign Ministers of Member States made their general statements in which they highlighted various measures taken by their respective countries for further strengthening the process of regional cooperation in South Asia within the framework of SAARC. The Ministers welcomed the conclusion of the Second Round of Trade Negotiations under SAPTA, the impressive strides made by the Member States on a number of key issues in the social agenda of SAARC as well as the effective projection of SAARC collective positions in various important international conferences. They hoped that cooperation amongst the Member Countries in the core economic areas would gain further momentum in the future, facilitating the eventual transition of SAPTA into SAFTA by the mandated time schedule.
The Foreign Ministers highlighted the importance of further work to be done to deepen and widen the process of trade liberalisation in the SAARC region and promotion of useful complementarities which would reinforce cooperation in trade and commerce. They also referred to a number of new ideas to widen the scope of intra-SAARC cooperation on the basis of existing and perceived potentials. They underlined the importance of strengthening the SAARC Secretariat to effectively contribute to the emerging challenges before the SAARC countries.
The Council considered and approved the Report of the Twenty-second Session of the Standing Committee. During the meeting, the Council :
expressed satisfaction at the conclusion of the Second Round of Trade Negotiations under SAPTA and approved the Report of the Fourth Meeting of the IGG (Kathmandu, 29-30 November, 1996) and the National Schedules of Concessions and decided that all necessary procedures should be completed so that the Schedules as finalised during the Second Round enter into force latest by 1st March 1997.
directed that the newly established Inter-Governmental Expert Group on Transition to SAFTA should start its work at the earliest to prepare an action plan with time-frame for each individual step for moving from SAPTA to SAFTA preferably by the year 2000 but not later than 2005 A.D.
welcomed the proposed Meet-ing on Investment Promotion and Protection to be held in India; Meeting on Avoidance of Double Taxation in Pakistan; and the First Meeting of Group on Customs Cooperation also in Pakistan.
endorsed the Joint Statement of First Meeting of SAARC Commerce Ministers (New Delhi, 8-9 January 1996) to the Ninth SAARC Summit for approval. The Council further welcomed the offer of Pakistan to host the Second Meeting of SAARC Commerce Ministers and the Second SAARC Trade Fair in 1997.
took note of the Report of the Third SAARC Ministerial Conference on Children of South Asia and the Rawalpindi Resolution adopted by the Ministers at the Conference and endorsed it for submission to the Ninth SAARC Summit.
decided to submit the Report of the Second Meeting of the Finance/Planning Ministers to the Ninth SAARC Summit.
deliberated on the theme for the SAARC Year 1997 and in view of the recommendation of the Second Meeting of Finance/ Planning Ministers, decided to propose for the Summit's consideration that the Theme for the SAARC Year 1997 be "Participatory Governance".
urged that highest priority should continue to be accorded to poverty eradication by all Member States in their national plans. welcomed the proposal of Sri Lanka to host a SAARC Film Festival in 1998. noted with satisfaction that SAARC collective positions were formulated by the concerned Ministers of SAARC Member Countries and presented at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlement (Habitat-II) held in Istanbul in June 1996 and at the World Food Summit held in Rome in November 1996.
welcomed the proposals to organise
(a) Meeting of SAARC Information Ministers
(b) Meeting of SAARC Environment Ministers
(c) Meeting of SAARC Tourism Ministers.
approved the establishment of a SAARC Human Resource Development Centre in Pakistan.
SAARC STANDING COMMITTEE
CONCLUDES ITS TWENTY-SECOND SESSION
The Twenty-second Session of the Standing Committee was held at New Delhi on December 16-18, 1996 under the Chairmanship of the Foreign Secretary of India, Salman Haidar. The Committee during its deliberations discussed a number of issues pertaining to strengthening cooperation under the SAARC umbrella.
While considering the matters relating to Economic and Trade, the Committee noted with appreciation the successful conclusion of the second round of trade negotiations under SAPTA. Pakistan's offer to host the First Meeting of the Group on Customs Cooperation in 1997 was welcomed by Member States. The Committee expressed its appreciation of the commendable initiative by SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry in organizing the SAARC Economic Cooperation Conference (SECC) in New Delhi in November 1996.
A review was carried out on the implementation of activities under the SAARC-Japan Special Fund. The list of programmes/activities for the year 1997 was approved which include workshops/training programmes on Planning and Management; Computer Software Area; Geographical Information System for Cable Network; Poverty Focused Rural Development; Meeting of Experts on Poisoning in the SAARC Region; and Training Programme for Highway Engineers in Pavement Designs.
The Standing Committee reviewed progress in the implementation of the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA), and considered the Reports of the Meetings of the Technical Committees on Agriculture; Communications; Education, Culture and Sports; Environment and Meteorology; Health, Population Activities and Child Welfare; Prevention of Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse; Rural Development; Science and Technology; Tourism; Transport and Women in Development, which met since the last Session of the Standing Committee. The Committee stressed that the activities under the IPA should be of direct relevance and benefit the people of the region and decided that the possibility of rationalizing the number of Technical Committees and their fields of work may be explored in order to provide the much needed goal-oriented focus to the IPA. The Committee also stressed the need to create effective mechanisms for coordination between the various IPA sectors.
The Standing Committee also considered and approved the Reports of the Governing Boards of the four SAARC Regional Centres. It advised the Secretary-General to carry out a detailed review on the working and re-organisation of the Centres after having a coordination meeting of the Directors of the Centres.
The Committee while reviewing cooperation with international and other regional organisations noted with satisfaction that the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between SAARC and European Commission has been signed. The two organisations would work closely in a number of areas, including the eradication campaign for rinderpest.
SAARC has already signed agreements with other inter-national and regional organisa-tions such as UNCTAD, ESCAP, UNICEF, APT, UNDP, UNDCP, and the Standing Committee reviewed progress on SAARC's cooperation with them. Efforts are being made to strengthen cooperation with other agencies and organisations such as ITC, UNFPA, ADB, ASEAN.
The Standing Committee authorized the Secretary-General to sign the proposed Memorandum of Understanding with ITU. The Committee also authorised the Secretary-General to coordinate with the Chinese authorities in connection with convening of a Seminar on SAARC-China cooperation.
While reviewing progress in the implementation of SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, and the SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the Standing Committee emphasized the need for regular flow of relevant information to enable the SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) in Colombo to function effectively. The Committee also took note of the recent international initiatives, particularly by the United Nations Organisations to combat terrorism and called upon the Member States to cooperate regionally as well as support international measures towards the elimination of terrorism.
The Standing Committee considered the Report of the SAARC Conference on Cooperation in Police Matters and welcomed the offer of the Maldives to host the Second Conference in Male' in 1997. The Committee also approved the guidelines for granting observer/guest status at SAARC meetings. While it was decided that SAARC recognised regional apex bodies and international and regional organisations that have signed cooperation agreements with SAARC would be provided Observer Status, Guest Status would be provided to individual countries having cooperation agreements with SAARC; international and regional organisations which have expressed interest in SAARC activities; and international NGO's having cooperation agreements with SAARC.
The Committee recommended that Member States may organise Youth Camps such as Adventure Camps, Science/Arts Camps, social Service Camps, Entre-preneur Development Camps etc. to further encourage youth interaction within the region.
SAVE activities play an active role in strengthening people-to-people contact under the aegis of SAARC. On expansion of the scope of SAVE programmes, the Standing Committee recommen-ded that the SAVE Committee should examine the possibility of holding SAARC Film Festivals, including TV film festivals.
Several other reports as well as the Calendar of Activities out-side IPA, for the year 1997 were considered by the Standing Committee.
The meeting of the Standing Committee was preceded by the Seventeenth Session of the Programming Committee on December 14-15, 1996. The meeting held under the chairmanship of Sudhir Vyas, Joint Secretary (SAARC), Ministry of External Affairs of India considered the Report of the Fifteenth Meeting of the SAVE Committee held in Colombo on September 3-5, 1996. Noting the usefulness of the training programmes organised under the aegis of SAVE in Pakistan, the Committee welcomed the offer of
Pakistan to organise similar programmes in future.
The Committee noted that the SAVE joint productions on "SAARC Year of Literacy" were telecast/broadcast in member countries to coincide with the SAARC Charter Day.
The Committee also reviewed the implementation of the Calendar of Activities under the Integrated Programme of Action since its last session. It also proposed the Calendar for the year 1997, which included a number of short-term activities such as workshops, seminars and training programmes.
"SAARC YOUTH AWARDS SCHEME" TO BE LAUNCHED IN 1997
The SAARC Youth Awards Scheme, aimed at providing suitable recognition to extra-ordinary young talents and encourage the overall development of the youth in the region, would be launched in January 1997. Persons of the age group of 20-35 years from SAARC Member Countries would be eligible to participate in the Scheme.
During the first three years one award would be given each year. In the first year the award would be for "Outstanding Social Service in Community Welfare" and in subsequent years awards would be given in turn for the categories of "New Inventions and Discoveries", and "Creative Skills". At the end of the three-year period, the Scheme would be reviewed with a view to streamlining it further and making it more broad-based.
Each Award will consist of a SAARC Gold Medal; cash prize of US$ 500.00, and return air ticket to the winner for travel to the venue of the presentation of the award. More details of the Scheme will be publicised by all SAARC Member Countries through their media.
A Selection Committee comprising of three eminent persons from the region would decide on the winner from the entries received from all Member Countries.
REGIONAL UNIVERSITY FOR HIGHER STUDIES ON LAW PROPOSED
The Fifth SAARCLAW Conference held in Dhaka on December 27-29, 1996 proposed that a regional university for higher studies on law be established to further strengthen cooperation in the field.
Inaugurating the Conference, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina said that her government was pledge-bound to safeguard, protect and defend the Constitution and to maintain its supremacy as the embodiment of the will of the people and the foundation of the rule of law.
The inaugural session of the Conference held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Dhaka was presided over by SAARCLAW President K.K. Venugopal. In his introductory statement, Mr. Venugopal said that judiciary was a strong guiding force for attaining social change, economic growth and prosperity. The Chief Justice of Bangladesh and Justice A.T.M. Afzal, Chairman of SAARCLAW Bangladesh Chapter Amir-ul-Islam, and SAARCLAW General Secretary Dhara Wijayatilake also addressed the inaugural session.
Chairman Amir-ul-Islam, while highlighting the theme of the Conference "Development Through Law", pointed out that law and development are integral part of each other. Director, SAARC Secretariat, Suresh Pradhan read out the message of the SAARC Secretary-General on the occasion. M. Haffizullah, Vice-Chairman, SAARCLAW (Bangladesh) proposed the vote of thanks.
Noted jurists, advocates, academicians and bar association leaders of the SAARC countries attended the Conference. The Chief Justices of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and former Chief Justices and Judges of the SAARC Countries also attended the Conference. The SAARC Chief Justices Conferences was held simultaneously.
The Sixth SAARCLAW Conference would be held in October 1997 in Pakistan.
Secretary-General Co-chairs the NDP Advisory Committee Meeting
After the formal signing of SAARC-UNDP Memorandum of Understanding in July 1995, SAARC and UNDP have made significant strides in a number of areas with a view to supporting the efforts of their member governments to promote regional cooperation and development. Poverty Eradication has figured as one of the major thrusts in the cooperative endeavors of the two organizations as is evidenced by the recent convening of the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on UNDP Sub-regional Programme on Poverty Alleviation in South Asia which was co-chaired by SAARC Secretary-General, Naeem U. Hasan and UNDP Assistant Secretary-General, Nay Htun.
Opening the UNDP Advisory Committee Meeting on December 9 in Kathmandu, Secretary-General highlighted the Seventh SAARC Summit resolution to eradicate of poverty in South Asia preferably by the year 2002 and the subsequent SAARC efforts in achieving this target. Secretary-General further opined that the meeting would help strengthen the on-going cooperation between SAARC and UNDP and add new substance and dynamism to their mutually reinforcing endeavors in the field of poverty eradication in South Asia.
Secretary-General meets SAARC Ambassadors in Kathmandu
With the objective of intensifying contacts between the SAARC Missions accredited to Nepal and the SAARC Secretariat, Secretary-General Naeem U. Hasan convened a meeting with the Kathmandu based SAARC Ambassadors on December 30. Present on the occasion were Mohiuddin Ahmed, K. V. Rajan, Kamran Niaz, and Rubert Jayasinghe, resident Ambassadors of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, respectively. The newly arrived Counsellor of Sri Lanka, N. Karunadasa who took over as CDA, a.i. of the Embassy on January 1 1997 was also present.
During the meeting held in an informal setting, Secretary-General briefed the SAARC Ambassadors about the outcome of the recently concluded New Delhi Session of the Council of Ministers and the meetings preceding it. The resident SAARC Ambassadors appreciated the initiative of the SAARC Secretariat in organizing this meeting and felt that it was an excellent idea to have such informal consultations on a regular basis.
It may be recalled that the Twenty-second Session of the Standing Committee held in New Delhi in December 1996 had decided that intensified contacts between the Secretary-General and the SAARC Ambassadors in Kathmandu were desirable.
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT MEETS
- POSSIBLE REGIONAL VENTURES TO STRENGTHEN COOPERATION IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR DISCUSSED
SAARC Member Countries, during the fifteenth meeting of the Technical Committee on Transport in Kathmandu on 2-3 December 1996, held extensive discussions on possible regional ventures to strengthen coopera-tion in the transport sector that were identified during its earlier meetings. The areas include Joint Venture Operations for Container Liner Shipping Service, Joint Ventures in the Transport field in the spheres of Consultancy, Contracting and other related services, and Flight Safety Oversight Programme. The Committee decided to speed up action required to implement the initiatives.
The two-day meeting of the Transport Committee reviewed progress achieved since its last meeting in 1995 in the areas relating to compilation of Compendia of Information on Roads; Air Transport; Directories on Centres of Excellence and Consultants & Experts in the Field of Transport. The Committee also reviewed the progress in implementation of its Calendar of Activities for the year 1996 and drew up a new Calendar for the year 1997.
The meeting attended by participants from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was inaugurated by Varun P. Shrestha, Acting Secretary, Ministry of Works and Transport of Nepal. In his inaugural address the Acting Secretary stated that SAARC has provided a platform for sharing the experiences and technical know-how in the transport sector for the promotion of welfare of the people of South Asia and improvement of their quality of life. He expressed the hope that valuable deliberations in the Meeting on old and newly identified areas of common concern would help to promote the integrated development of transport infrastructure in this region and enhance the efficiency and safety of all modes of transport system at large.
The Chairman of the Transport Committee from Nepal, K.B. Khadgi gave a brief account of activities under the Transport Sector held during the year 1996 and expressed the hope that cooperation in this vital area would be further consolidated in the near future. Director, Ranjith P. Jayasooriya represented the SAARC Secretariat.
Visitors to SAARC Secretariat
The month of December saw an upsurge in the number of visitors from the UN System alone, who visited the SAARC Secretariat. Dr. Nay Htun, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, UNDP, New York, who was on an official mission in Kathmandu met the Secretary-General and had a broad ranging exchange of views in furthering the ties between SAARC and UNDP. David Lockwood, UNDP Representative in Dhaka, Bangladesh was another visitor who called on the Secretary-General this month to discuss ways and means to add substance and dynamism to the on-going SAARC-UNDP cooperative endeavors. Other visitors representing the UN System who called on the Secretary-General were Shoaib Sultan, UNDP Senior Adviser, and K. R. Venugopal, UNDP Senior Regional Policy Adviser, both based in Kathmandu.
During the month, Secretary-General received Michael Lummaux, the newly accredited Ambassador of France to Nepal. He also received Dr. (Mrs.) Sandra L. Vogelgesang, American Ambassador to Nepal, who accompanied the Delegation from US House International Relations Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific composed of its Staff Director Michael Ennis and other officials, David Adams and Stephen Blake.
Dr. S. K. Hajela, Coordinator, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok also called on the Secretary-General this month. During the meeting, Secretary-General apprised the Coordinator about the SAARC Council of Ministers' approval to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SAARC and ITU. The occasion was also utilized to discuss suitable dates and venue for the signing ceremony of the MOU between the two organizations.
The media people based in Kathmandu and elsewhere in the region have increasingly been interacting with the SAARC Secretariat to inform the South Asian populace about SAARC and its activities. During the month, Secretary-General received Y. N. Bhandari, Editor & Publisher of Milan Weekly, Kathmandu and Abhijit Kumar Dutt, Assistant New Editor of Telegraph Daily, Calcutta.
Other visitors to the SAARC Secretariat during the month were Y. K. Silwal, former SAARC Secretary-General, Bishwa Pradhan, former Foreign Secretary of Nepal, and Hojun Kikuchi, Charge d' Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, who called on the Secretary-General separately and discussed SAARC related matters.
MID-DECADE REVIEW OF THE GIRL-CHILD SITUATION IN SAARC COUNTRIES
The Technical Committee on Women in Development, during its eleventh meeting held in New Delhi on 4-5 December, 1996, reviewed the implementation of the Plan of Action for the SAARC Decade of the Girl Child (1991-2000 A.D.).
The mid-decade review prepared by the Committee based on country reports on the implement-ation of their national plans of action, showed that considerable progress was made in improving the health status of the Girl-Child, through strengthening of service delivery systems and child health programmes. This was reflected in a number of indicators particularly the Infant Mortality Rate which had declined substantially in many countries. However, the study also showed that reduction of maternal mortality and acute manifesta-tions of malnutrition had remained modest. Recognising the gender discriminatory attitudes in the family resulting in the socio-economic disadvant-ages for the Girl-Child, the Committee underscored the necessity to increase the regularity of awareness genera-tion campaigns to project positive images of the Girl-child and to change the negative socail attitudes and indidual mind-sets. The Review will be presented to the Ninth SAARC Summit in the Maldives in May 1997.
The meeting also reviewed the progress on the Plan of Action on Women. Member Countries presented their status reports on the progress. In order to standardise the reporting procedure, the Committee decided that the format prepared by Bangladesh for the purpose of reporting on the implementation of the Plan of Action would be used in future.
The Committee also considered the follow-up action by Member States on the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and in this regard noted that the UNIFEM had convened a regional meeting of South Asian countries to commemorate Beijing on 9th September 1996 in New Delhi. The meeting had provided a platform for the Member States to have detailed discussions on issues of women's empowerment in the region and sharing information on examples of best practices. It also helped to identify possibilities as well as major challenges and lacunae in the wake of the Beijing Conference.
"Women in the Informal Sector" was the theme decided for the Fourth Issue of the SAARC Solidarity Journal. The Committee decided that Maldives would publish the journal to coincide with the Ninth SAARC Summit to be held in the Maldives in May 1997.
The Committee held detailed discussions on various aspects of the Girl Child in Especially Difficult Circumstances (GCEDC) with a view to assist the Council of Ministers undertake an urgent appraisal of the situation of GCEDC and submit specific recommendations to the Ninth SAARC Summit. Based on the findings and the recommenda-tions of the GCEDC Workshop held in Colombo in November 1995, the Committee prepared a set of recommendations on the subject for consideration of the Standing Committee and the Council of Ministers.
The Meeting reviewed the Calendar of Activities for 1996 and took note of important recommendations that had emerged during the Workshops on the Mid-decade Review and Women in Sustainable Develop-ment held in New Delhi and Islamabad respectively during the year. The Committee also proposed the Calendar of Activities for 1997.
The Eleventh Meeting of the Committee held under the chairmanship of A.K. Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women and Social Welfare of India was attended by representatives from all Member States. SAARC Secretariat was represented by Director, Ms. K.C. Namgyel.
TOURISM COUNCIL OF SCCI INAUGURATED IN KATHMANDU
- Seminar on Tourism Promotion held
The Tourism Council of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) was formally inaugurated in Kathmandu on 26 December 1996. The inaugural ceremony was followed by a two-day Regional Seminar on Promotion of Tourism.
The Chairman of the Council, Padma Jyoti welcomed the delegates to the seminar. Inaugurating the Seminar, the Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba, expressed the view that governments should create an atmosphere where healthy growth of the economy could take place with the involvement of the private sector. Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal, Chakra Prasad Bastola also addressed the Seminar.
Addressing the formal launching, SAARC Secretary-General, Naeem U. Hasan complimented SCCI for its initiatives in the sector of tourism and termed the event as a significant landmark in
SAARC's on-going endeavors to promote the South Asian region as a Tourist Destination. He also informed the gathering of the forthcoming first ever Meeting of the SAARC Tourism Ministers in Colombo in April 1997 to intensify cooperation in the field of tourism.
The Secretary-General also underlined the need to fully exploit the potential of tourism and expand regional cooperation in this sector for mutual benefit. Ashok K. Attri, Director, SAARC Secretariat also attended the Seminar.
The Tourism Council has been constituted by SCCI with the overall mission of contributing to the development of the tourism sector and through it to the economic development of the region and to promote regional cooperation at private sector level. Its main objective is to promote tourism in the SAARC region by way of promotion of flow of tourists within the region
and from outside the region. The programmes of the SCCI Tourism Council are being coordinated by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. On the recommendation of the Technical Committee on Tourism, the Chairman of the SCCI Tourism Council or his representative has been made a permanent invitee to all future meetings of the Technical Committee on Tourism to make presentations on the activities/ programmes and views of the Tourism Council of SCCI on regional tourism cooperation.
The Regional Seminar in Kathmandu concluded with the adoption of SCCI Tourism Council Declaration which calls for unified action on the part of all concerned private and govern-mental bodies for concerted efforts towards promotion of tourism in the region.
SAARC CHARTER DAY OBSERVED
SAARC celebrated its eleventh anniversary on 8 December 1996.
As part of the activities to mark the Charter Day, SAARC Secretary-General, Naeem U. Hasan hosted a reception on 8 December, 1996. Leaders and Senior Officials of His Majesty's Govern-ment of Nepal, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, represen-tatives from UN and other Agencies, a number of dignita-ries associated with the SAARC process as well as media representatives attended the function.
The Association comprising of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka was established in 1985 at Dhaka with the signing of its Charter by the Heads of State/ Government of the seven countries. Since then SAARC has made a number of significant steps to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and improve their quality of life.
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