The Sixth Conference of the Association of Saarc Speakers and Parliamentarians has identified terrorism as the biggest challenge to democracy in South Asia and called for parliaments' pro-active role in addressing the issue.
"In addition, discussions have also revealed a strong agreement on strengthening the political parties' structures at all levels, while a call was also made for greater parliamentary interventions in addressing issues of corruption, class-divide and trends of rising intolerance in South Asia," Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza said on Tuesday.
She was speaking at the concluding session of 6th Conference of the Association of Saarc Speakers and Parliamentarians.
She said that the Conference enabled the parliamentarians of the member countries to forge close links.
As many as 18 members spoke on the topic of 'Meaningful Participatory Democracy - Parliament's Affirmative Actions', while 17 members took part in deliberations on 'Targeting Food Security for the Region: Parliament's Role in Accomplishing Millennium Development Goals'.
Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament Abdul Hamid, Speaker of Bhutan's National Assembly Lyonpo Dasho, Speaker of India's Lok Sabha Meira Kumar, Speaker of the People's Majlis of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid and Deputy Speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament Chandima Weerakkody participated in the Conference.
In vote of thanks, Dr Fehmida Mirza said that the wisdom and foresightedness, reflected in their respective keynotes to the Conference, enabled the discussions of the Conference to remain focused on issues mutually beneficial to all. I am sure that under our collective leadership, the Association will continue to progress in future, she said.
In the realm of food security, the Speaker said that it was noted by the delegates that although Saarc Food Security Bank had been established in 2007, the pace of its progress remained "far too slow".
"A combined parliamentary political intervention has been recommended to give it a boost. The proposal of a regional agenda for co-operation in research and sharing of agriculture and forest technology is also another important suggestion," she said.
Dr Fehmida Mirza said that a Committee had been constituted on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adding that another committee would also be formed at Saarc level. She said that these committees would meet twice a year.
The Speaker said that the acceptance of the idea by the Speakers' Council to institute a Women's Committee of the Association was a historic achievement.
Femida Mirza said: "It is equally important to note that these deliberations have also pointed towards the need of evolving a joint strategy on 'Beyond 2015 Post-MDGs' scenario. It was genuinely felt to take into account the realties of: i) Climate change and related risks ii) Chronic poverty and growing inequalities iii) Uncontrolled population growth and unplanned urbanisation and (iv) the global financial crisis."
She said that these "are indeed serious threats to the progress and promotion of a vibrant democracy and owing to their inter-connected nature; they require a holistic approach on the regional level. She said that the need now is to sustain this meaningful parliamentary dialogue. As the President of this Conference for 2012-13, I will be working on finding ways to increase the momentum of parliamentary exchanges among member Parliaments. The women legislators have already taken the lead by calling for their meetings on biannual basis. This practise can be replicated by organising parliamentary seminars, workshops and discussions on mutually agreed issues on regular basis."
Speaker of Indian Lok Sabha Meira Kumar said that she came to Pakistan with a message of peace and love of their parliamentarians and the people of India. "We should cooperate and sit together to face the challenges of poverty, terrorism, health, education and food security," she said.
Speaker of the People's Majlis of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid and Speaker of Bhutan's National Assembly Lyonpo Dasho also spoke on the occasion.