Third Saarc body meeting: Pakistan suggests steps to alleviate poverty

Pakistan on Tuesday called upon the Saarc member countries that efforts on combating poverty in the region must continue through people's empowerment, by sharing each others experience and success stories of poverty reduction strategies including social mobilisation, investment in human capital and community driven initiatives.
The two-day 3rd meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc), National Co-ordination Committee to implement Saarc Social Charter has been organised by Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan to provide an opportunity to the heads of the NCCs of respective Saarc member states to exchange their views regarding implementation of National Plan of Action prepared by each member state.
Suhail Safdar, Secretary Planning and Development Commission inaugurated the meeting while Eizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Hassan Shaifo, Director Saarc Secretariat also spoke on the occasion. Senior officials of Planning and Development Division also attended the meeting.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Additional Secretary, Foreign Affairs Eizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said, "We are meeting in a challenging times" adding that the dramatic increase in oil and food prices over the course of last year, now combined with global financial crisis, have been instrumental not only in igniting inflation in the developing countries but also eroding their potentials capability to maintain respectable economic growth with social equity.
He further said that the short-term measures being taken by these countries under their stabilisation and structural reforms programmes would improve macro economic stability in their respective countries.
He also stressed the need for implementing the programme through targeted pro-poor interventions entailing more investment in social safety nets. Eizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said that Pakistan acknowledges the significant steps taken by the member states to alleviate human sufferings in the region. He expressed the hope that the present meeting with its agenda would play critical role in furthering the cause of Saarc social charter.
He mentioned that in the 15th Saarc summit in August 2008, the heads of state have already emphasised the importance of maintaining the momentum and need to strengthen its focus on developing and implementing the need for regional and sub-regional projects in the agreed areas on priority basis.