The government on Wednesday called upon the heads of states of Saarc countries to resolve all political disputes and augment regional co-operation, if they want to reap the real benefits of the globalisation for their economic development.
Dr M. Akram Sheikh, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission said this at the first meeting of the heads of the National Co-ordination Committees (NCCs) to implement Saarc social charter organised here with Muhammad Humayun Farshori, the Secretary of the Planning Commission in chair.
"In the globalising world today, regional co-operation has become a powerful vehicle for achieving peace, development and progress. However, South Asia has yet to take full advantage of this world-wide phenomenon. We remain bogged in the very basic issue of poverty and preoccupied with our differences and conflicts. Resultantly, South Asia lags far behind the other Asian regions in terms of economic and social advancement", he said.
Akram said that the regional co-operation had remained limited in the region. A much closer and robust regional co-operation for development is imperative to benefit from new opportunities being created under the globalisation. While doing this, we need to create linkages and complementarities among South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) members to ensure a win-win situation for all.
Pointing out the other avenues of regional co-operation in South Asia, he said that South Asia Free Trade Area (Safta), the social charter, poverty alleviation, energy co-operation and co-ordinated measures for suppression of terrorism are avenues for working together.
"I feel that we can overcome the problem of poverty in South Asia more aggressively by promoting trade, investment and developing human resources," Akram said.
The Saarc social charter is a historic document giving a clear vision for promotion of the socio-economic development of South Asia.
The objectives set forth in the charter focussed on collective welfare of the peoples, improving their quality of life, accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development in South Asia, where one-fifth of the world population resides.
The deputy chairman planning commission said that the charter objectives should be correlated with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to facilitate multidimensional assistance and co-operation from the UN agencies.
The Secretary Planning Commission Humayun Farshori observed that in the wake of globalisation and allied challenges, it was imperative to develop positive links - first within ourselves - with a view to identifying the possible areas of co-operation, joining hands to gather our strengths and then developing links with the outside world, acting jointly wherever possible, for reaping gains for the betterment of our people. "Together, with deep and broad co-operation, we the South Asians stand a chance to reap more for all of us," he said.
The Director Saarc Secretariat Muhammad Naseer said that the implementation of the social charter could identify the regional strategies for social development.
"In addition, the social charter remained as an important source of inspiration for Independent South Asian Commission of Poverty Alleviation (Isacpa), in formulating the Saarc development goals, which was launched in Dhaka, few days back. It would be a useful tool to consider, while making the implementation plan for the social charter", said the director.
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