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Nepalese Prime Minister Bhattarai Speaking At SAARC Summit
By KTM Metro Reporter
November 11, 2011: speaking at the 17th SAARC Summit held in Addu city of the Maldives, Nepalese Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai yesterday has said that the success of SAARC depends on what it can deliver to the people and asked the member states to collectively think big and act big, ‘The Rising Nepal’ of today writes.
"Let us turn South Asia into a power-house of growth and development and a beacon of human civilization in the 21st century," the Prime Minister said. "Let us collectively think big and act big."
"The success of the SAARC process as a whole will be judged by what we deliver to our people, and not by what ritual pronouncements we make. In its 26 years of existence, time has come for SAARC to take stock of achievements, identify challenges and chart out a course for future action," said the Prime Minister.
“Despite being a cradle of major world civilizations, rich in history, culture and natural as well as unparalleled human resources, our peoples’ aspiration for progress and prosperity remains unfulfilled,” said the Nepalese prime minister.
"Our intra-regional trade and investment flows remain one of the lowest in the world mainly due to constraints like poor physical connectivity, energy shortage and trust deficit. Flow of goods, people and ideas remains constrained and potentials under-realized. Implementation of SAFTA is hindered by tariff, non-tariff and para-tariff barriers and suffers from slow progress in reducing the number of items in the sensitive lists and constraints of trade facilitation," ‘The Rising Nepal’ of today quotes the prime minister.
"We have been able to set norms, build institutions and establish linkages among ourselves in social, economic, trade and environmental sectors. SAARC Development Fund, South Asian University, SAARC Food Bank, commencement of SAFTA, SAARC Social Charter and conclusion of a host of other regional instruments constitute important milestones," said Prime Minister Bhattarai, "Our endeavor to build bridges should touch all dimensions of South Asian lives, be it social, cultural, physical, or in terms of transportation and communications. Regional energy connectivity and energy trade also become important elements in this regard."
