Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Monday underscored the need for a paradigm shift to respond to the challenges faced by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member states such as poverty, illiteracy, disease, climate change, state terrorism against people under illegal occupation, and longstanding unresolved disputes.

The foreign secretary was addressing an event in Foreign Office in connection with the 35th SAARC Charter Day which was also attended by Islamabad-based ambassadors of the SAARC nations.

"We remain beset by numerous challenges - including poverty, illiteracy, disease, climate change, state terrorism against people under illegal occupation, and longstanding unresolved disputes...It is imperative to change this paradigm," Sohail Mahmood asserted.

He said, "Our shared desires for promoting peace, stability, amity and progress in the region require charting a different course. We must craft a new vision for SAARC that builds upon the experiences of the past, and on our collective strengths, to guide the SAARC process in the medium and long term."

The foreign secretary emphasized that SAARC should become an effective instrument of integrated and resulted-oriented regional cooperation.

"We must summon the requisite political will, restore the Association's vitality, and realize the region's immense potential in myriad of sectors from agriculture to trade to tourism," he added.

As a founding member, he stated, Pakistan reaffirms its abiding commitment to the SAARC Charter and the noble purposes and principles enshrined in it.

He also hoped that the hiatus created in SAARC's continuous progression would be removed to enable the member states to forge ahead on the path of regional cooperation for development and to achieve their full potential.

"We must remember that the sum is always bigger than the part; and that the cause of collective good is always larger than individual predilections," he pointed out.

"For us in Pakistan, it remains a conviction that SAARC will go forward, as the march of history and the progress of mankind cannot be stalled," the foreign secretary further stated.

He pointed out that the adoption of the SAARC Charter in 1985 ushered in a new era of cooperation among the member states, representing one-fifth of humanity. In its essence, he added, the Charter encapsulates the conviction that the challenges faced by the region can be overcome through regional cooperation.

He said that the SAARC Charter underlines that the tremendous potential and opportunities that South Asia is blessed with can be harnessed for common good.

"Most importantly, the Charter underscores the imperative of working together in a spirit of shared responsibility and partnership for the well-being and prosperity of all peoples of South Asia," he added.

He noted with satisfaction that the scope and substance of cooperation within the SAARC framework has expanded substantially since its inception 35 years ago, adding that from a declaratory phase, the Association has decisively moved to that of implementation.

"Indeed, the Association has matured into a viable platform for substantive engagement and meaningful collaboration. Today, SAARC embodies a forum for building trust, confidence and sustained interaction to promote and engender tangible cooperation in diverse areas," he added.

Endowed with tremendous resources, he stated, the creativity, innovation, enterprise and determination of the people of South Asia represent the key assets and drivers for member states' pursuit of progress and socio-economic development.

"Occasions such as these are opportune moments to reflect on our shortcomings as well," he said, adding that despite the progress made so far, South Asia remains the least integrated, and one of the most under-developed regions of the world.

Ambassador of Maldives to Pakistan Ahmad Saleem stated in his address that SAARC was established with an objective to economic stability and poverty alleviation in the region.

He underscored the need for collective efforts for sustainable development and achieving other targets enshrined in the SAARC Charter, adding that all the member nations need to reaffirm their commitment for achieving these goals.

On the occasion, Director SAARC Energy Center Mohammad Naeem put on display the energy solution models for the backward areas of the SAARC region.