SAARC must be responsive to people's aspirations: Sartaj

Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday said the SAARC must be responsive to the aspirations of its people to become a viable regional organisation. Addressing the SAARC ministerial meeting here, which preceded the two-day Summit starting on Wednesday, he emphasised that regional co-operation strategy must be formulated and pursued with political will and commitment of the member states.
The Council of Ministers, a charter body of SAARC, which meets once a year, took stock of the SAARC's progress, discussed the recommendations made by the Standing Committee that met on November 23-24, and took a range of decisions for the strengthening of the SAARC processes. The Council prepared recommendations for consideration at the Summit and also finalised the Declaration of the Summit, which was drafted by the Programming Committee and discussed at the Standing Committee, for adoption by the leaders.