Introduction
- The Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Her
Excellency Begum Khaleda Zia, the King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme
Singye Wangchuck, the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, His
Excellency Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, the President of the Republic of
Maldives, His Excellency Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the Prime
Minister of Nepal, the Rt. Hon. Girija Prasad Koirala, the Prime
Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, His Excellency Mr.
Mohammed Nawaz Sharif and the President of the Democratic Socialist
Republic of Shri Lanka, His Excellency Mr. Ranasinghe Premadasa met
at the Seventh Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) at Dhaka, Bangladesh on 10 - 11 April, 1993.
REGIONAL COOPERATION
- The Heads of State or Government reiterated their commitment to
the principles and objectives of the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC), to the five principles of peaceful
co-existence, the UN Charter and non-alignment. The Heads of State
or Government noted the progress achieved in regional cooperation
under the aegis of SAARC. They felt that time was now opportune for
SAARC to provide a further dynamic impetus to activities in the core
areas of economic, social and cultural cooperation in the SAARC
region
INTEGRATED PROGRAMME OF ACTION (IPA)
- The Heads of State or Government welcomed the recent specific
steps taken to consolidate and further streamline IPA-related SAARC
activities. They also stressed the need for a progressive movement
towards undertaking more well-defined, target-oriented and time-
bound projects and programmes to ensure tangible benefits for the
peoples of South Asia.
ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE IPA
- The Leaders welcomed the recent decisions to institutionalize
cooperation in the core areas.
MORE BUSINESS-LIKE AND FUNCTIONAL APPROACH IN THE CONDUCT OF
SAARC MEETINGS
- The Heads of State or Government approved the recommendations of
the Eleventh Session of the Council of Ministers for adopting a more
business-like and functional approach in the conduct of Summit
meetings. They also noted with satisfaction the guidelines and
procedures approved by the Eleventh Session of the Council in this
respect relating to other SAARC meetings. They decided to meet
informally whenever necessary, between Summits.
CONSENSUS ON ERADICATION OF POVERTY IN SOUTH ASIA
- Conscious that the sheer magnitude and complexity of South Asian
poverty constituted a major political and economic challenge, the
Heads of State or Government reiterated their commitment to continue
to accord a high priority to its eradication from the region in the
shortest possible time.
- They pledged to overcome this challenge through the
implementation of appropriate pro-poor development strategies at
macro and micro levels.
- In this context, the Heads of State or Government welcomed the
Report of the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty
Alleviation established at the Colombo Summit. The Report provided
valuable insight and illustrative examples of successful poverty
alleviation programmes in individual Member States.
- Acknowledging that the abiding human qualities of dignity,
creativity and productive potential are eroded by chronic poverty,
the Heads of State or Government reiterated their commitment to
empowering the poor for enhanced growth, consistent with human
development and equity.
- The Heads of State or Government committed their Governments
unequivocally to the eradication of poverty in South Asia,
preferably by the year 2002 A.D. through an Agenda of Action, which
would, inter-alia, embody :
- A strategy of social mobilization involving the building of
organizations of the poor and their empowerment through
appropriate national support mechanisms, with the assistance of
respective Governments;
- A policy of decentralized agricultural development and
sharply focussed household level food security through universal
provision of `Daal-Bhaat' or basic nutritional needs;
- A policy of decentralized small scale labour intensive
industrialization, with the choice of efficient and
cost-effective technology;
- A policy of human development, including the enhancement of
the social role and status of poor women, the provision of
universal primary education, skill development, primary health
care, shelter for the poor and protection of children;
- A policy to support the above initiatives with adequate
financial resources.
- The Heads of State or Government stressed that within the overall
conceptual approach of `Daal-Bhaat', the right to work and the right
to primary education should receive priority.
- The Leaders also underscored the critical link between the
success of national efforts aimed at poverty alleviation and the
external factors affecting growth and development. They urged all
major actors in the world economic scene, particularly the
industrialized countries and multilateral and regional financial
institutions, and Non-Governmental Organizations to create an
enabling international atmosphere that is supportive of poverty
alleviation programmes in South Asia. This would require a new
dialogue with donors.
- The Heads of State or Government agreed to the follow-up action
indicated below :
- a national level pro-poor plan to be drawn up by each Member
State. This plan is to be harmonized with the open economy and
structural adjustment strategies;
- to share during the next Summit, information regarding the
progress achieved.
TRADE, MANUFACTURES AND SERVICES
- The Heads of State or Government reaffirmed the need to
liberalize trade as early as possible through a step by step
approach. They underscored that this should be done in such a manner
that all countries in the region could share the benefits of trade
expansion equitably.
- In this context, the Heads of State or Government welcomed the
finalization of the framework Agreement on SAARC Preferential
Trading Arrangement (SAPTA). They expressed their deep satisfaction
over the signing of the framework Agreement. The Leaders stressed
that all necessary steps should be taken to begin the first round of
trade negotiations to exchange trade preferences among Member States
under the Arrangement.
- The Heads of State or Government further underlined the critical
importance of urgently promoting intra-regional cooperation,
particularly in the area of manufactures in order to enhance the
productive capacity of the Member Countries, and to promote
sustained growth and development to prevent the marginalization of
South Asia's trade interest in the larger global context.
ENVIRONMENT
- The Heads of State or Government expressed their deep concern at
the unabated degradation of the environment and recurrence of
devastating natural disasters. They also underscored the risks and
dangers involved in overlooking the challenge posed by these
problems. They expressed their commitment to implementing at all
levels - national, bilateral, regional and global - programmes for
the protection and preservation of the environment and prevention of
its degradation. The Heads of State or Government recognized that
the completion of the Regional Study on the "`Greenhouse
Effect' and its Impact on the Region" was a significant step
forward in promoting regional cooperation in this vital area. They
also stressed the importance of continuing the ongoing SAARC
activities in the field of environment.
- The Heads of State or Government welcomed the outcome of the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio
de Janeiro in 1992 and underscored the imperative need to ensure the
flow of resources to successfully implement the wide range of
suggested initiatives and actions contained in Agenda 21. The Heads
of State or Government noted that all international actions in the
area of environment should be based on common but differential
responsibilities, collective endeavours and a balanced perspective.
Such actions, they stressed, must consider the protection of
environment, economic growth and eradication of poverty as mutually
reinforcing. All environmental initiatives, they underscored, must
preclude the imposition of arbitrary and one-sided pre-conditions
and ensure a harmonious blending of environmental and development
concerns. They further noted with satisfaction the establishment of
the Commission on Sustainable Development. They urged that the
Commission approach environmental problems of developed and
developing countries in an equitable manner.
- The Heads of State or Government expressed their satisfaction
over the adoption of a common position by Member States prior to the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. They
expressed their determination to continue in future the practice of
intra-SAARC consultations on matters of common concern.
POPULATION
- Recognizing the sovereign right of all countries to promote,
adopt and implement their population policies and mindful of their
cultures, values and traditions, the Heads of State or Government
stressed the need to integrate demographic objectives and population
strategies in the formulation of the development strategies of
Member Countries. In this context, they also noted the importance of
adequate investment in the health and education sectors for the
success of their population programmes. They agreed that cooperation
among Member States should be strengthened, both through sharing
experiences and in other practical ways, to enhance their capacity
to deal with the population problem. The Leaders urged Governments
of developed countries, as well as all concerned international and
regional organizations, to strengthen their financial and technical
support in the areas of health and education as part of their
strategy of assistance to developing countries in their development
efforts.
- The Heads of State or Government welcomed the offer of Nepal to
host a SAARC Ministerial Conference on Women and Family Health in
Kathmandu in October/November 1993.
SHELTER
- The Heads of State or Government reiterated that housing was a
basic right for all people and that Governments should act as
facilitator and supporter of shelter programmes initiated by the
people. They urged Member States to continue to work towards the
global objective of "Shelter for All by the Year 2000".
CHILDREN
- Reaffirming their commitment to accord the highest priority to
child survival, protection and development, the Heads of State or
Government noted with satisfaction that all Member States had
completed their National Plans of Action on Children. They
reiterated their call at the Colombo Summit to continue to ensure
coordinated follow-up action by Member States on their respective
plans.
- The Heads of State or Government endorsed the "Colombo
Resolution on Children" adopted by the Second SAARC Ministerial
Conference on Children held at Colombo in September 1992 and urged
Member States to implement programmes as appropriate in their
respective national contexts, to achieve the illustrative goals
embodied in the Resolution, and the goals of the SAARC Plan of
Action on Children.
- The Heads of State or Government noted, in particular, the need
to take effective measures to protect children against all forms of
neglect, cruelty and exploitation and agreed to promote cooperation
among Member States in devising such measures.
YOUTH
- Stressing that the youth of South Asia constituted a vital
resource for national development and that mobilization of their
latent power was imperative, the Heads of State or Government
focussed special attention on the needs of the Youth in South Asia
and their development
- The Leaders noted that the youth of South Asia faced a number of
serious problems requiring urgent attention and remedial measures.
They welcomed the offer of the Maldives to host a Ministerial
Conference on Youth in South Asia in 1994 to address the problems of
the Youth and focus on the broad theme of youth and development.
They also agreed to designate 1994 as the "SAARC Year of the
Youth".
PLAN OF ACTION FOR THE DISABLED PERSONS
- The Heads of State or Government while recalling their decision
at the Male' Summit to observe 1993 as the "SAARC Year of
Disabled Persons", adopted the Regional Plan of Action for the
Disabled Persons. They urged Member States to take concrete steps to
implement the Plan.
- They welcomed the offer of Pakistan to host a Ministerial
Conference on Disabled Persons in September 1993.
WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT
- While reviewing the situation of women in the region, it was
noted with satisfaction that over a period of time, the content of
regional cooperation which addresses the issue of development,
gender and equality for women has steadily grown in SAARC. The Heads
of State or Government hoped that the cooperation thus developed
will enable Member States to achieve the ultimate goal of bringing
women into the mainstream of development with independence and
equality.
- The Heads of State or Government recalled that in pursuance of
their collective will expressed in the Male' Summit to observe the
1990s as the " SAARC Decade of the Girl Child", Member
States had undertaken to formulate National Plans of Action for the
improvement of the condition of the Girl Child giving priority to
her survival, protection and development. They expressed
satisfaction that some Member States had already completed this task
and others were expected to do so soon.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
- The Heads of State or Government emphasized that cooperation in
the field of Science and Technology was of utmost importance in
order to accelerate the process of development in South Asia.
- They called for further intensification of efforts by Member
States in this important area, particularly to facilitate research
and exchange of information through networking arrangements in the
field of bio-technology, genetic engineering, energy modelling
techniques and other identified areas of cooperation.
TERRORISM
- The Heads of State or Government reiterated their unequivocal
condemnation of all acts, methods and practices of terrorism as
criminal. They strongly deplored the adverse consequences of
terrorism.
- They noted with grave concern that the efforts to combat the
growing threat of terrorism had resulted in the diversion of
valuable scarce resources from urgent development programmes.
- The Leaders reiterated the need to give high priority to the
enactment of enabling legislation at the national level to give
effect to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism,
while urging the Member States which had not yet done so, to make
every effort to finalize this matter before the Eighth SAARC Summit.
- While recognizing that some progress had been achieved in the
fields of consultation and exchange of information, they stressed
the need for further enhancing cooperation in these fields as well
as for coordinated action. They called for the expeditious
implementation of the recommendations formulated for advancing
cooperation in this regard in pursuance of their decision at the
Colombo Summit.
DRUG TRAFFICKING AND DRUG ABUSE
- The Heads of State or Government reiterated their grave concern
at the growing menace of drug trafficking in the region and the
aggravation of the problem of drug abuse among the South Asian
population, particularly the youth.
- They recognized the devastating impact of drug abuse on the very
fabric of society and the serious threat to security and stability
posed by drug trafficking through its growing linkages with
organized crime, illicit arms trade and terrorism.
- The Heads of State or Government were gratified to note the
expanding cooperation among Member States to combat and eliminate
the scourge of drug trafficking and drug abuse.
- They reiterated the need for further strengthening cooperation in
this field and called for the expeditious implementation of the
recommendations formulated for this purpose in pursuance of their
decision at the Colombo Summit.
SECURITY OF SMALL STATES
- The Heads of State or Government reaffirmed their commitment to
pay special attention to the monitoring of the security of small
States and underscored the need to consider special measures of
support to preserve their sovereign independence, territorial
integrity and the well-being of their people. They further noted
that real protection of small and weaker States should be firmly
rooted in the Rule of Law and strict adherence to universally
accepted principles and norms relating to the sovereign rights and
territorial integrity of all States - big or small. This, they
stressed, should be ensured by all countries either severally or
collectively through the pursuit of appropriate actions.
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE CONTACT
- The Heads of State or Government stressed the need to further
promote people-to-people contact in order to ensure increased
involvement of peoples of South Asia in the process of regional
cooperation. In this context, they noted that the formulation of
guidelines and procedures for extending recognition to regional apex
bodies would facilitate participation of these bodies in promoting
regional cooperation at the people-to-people level.
- The Leaders expressed the hope that the recent recognition of the
SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry would contribute positively
to enhancing cooperation in the crucial areas of trade and economic
relations.
- The Heads of State or Government expressed their appreciation to
the Government and people of India for hosting the First South Asian
Festival of SAARC Countries in 1992. The Festival provided the
people of the region the opportunity to share in the rich cultural
heritage of South Asia. The Heads of State or Government hoped that
the South Asian Festival would become a regular feature.
ASSOCIATION OF SAARC SPEAKERS AND PARLIAMENTARIANS
- The Heads of State or Government welcomed the initiative of the
Speakers of Parliaments of SAARC Countries in forming an "Association
of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians". They were of the view
that the establishment of this Association would add another
important dimension to the process of regional cooperation
SOUTH ASIAN DEVELOPMENT FUND
- The Heads of State or Government endorsed the recommendation of
the Council of Ministers for the establishment of an
Inter-Governmental Group (IGG) on South Asian Development Fund
(SADF) on an ad-hoc basis. They directed that the IGG define in
clear terms the size, structure, resources and operational
modalities of the proposed Fund. They also directed the IGG to
examine the complementarities between the SAARC Fund for Regional
Projects (SFRP) and SADF, and their relationship, including the
possibility of their merger. They welcomed the offer of the Maldives
to host the meeting of IGG.
INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
- The Heads of State or Government had wide-ranging discussions on
the current global political trends and future prospects,
particularly those issues that affect South Asia. In this context,
they reiterated their deep commitment to the purposes and principles
of the UN Charter and reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen the
United Nations as the central instrument for peace, security,
disarmament, development and cooperation among the nations of the
world. To this end, the Leaders supported all constructive
initiatives aimed at strengthening the United Nations. They,
however, underscored that any move to adapt or reform the United
Nations must be undertaken with the sole objective of rendering the
United Nations more democratic, efficient and effective and not to
limit the focus of its attention to a narrow and isolated range of
objectives.
- The Heads of State or Government reiterated their firm commitment
to the principles and objectives of the Non-aligned Movement and
underlined the continued validity and relevance of these principles
and objectives in the contemporary global political and economic
context. They recalled the important role the Movement had been
playing in strengthening international peace, promoting development
and establishing more equitable and just economic relations and
enhancing international cooperation in all areas. They expressed
their deep conviction that the Movement's innate strength uniquely
equipped it to continue to play a most constructive role in laying
the foundations and defining the characteristics of a new world
order which should be based on the principles of justice, equity and
democracy in international relations. In this context, the Heads of
State or Government welcomed the success of the Jakarta Summit of
the Non-aligned countries and called for the expeditious
implementation of its decisions.
- The Heads of State or Government noted that the end of the cold
war presented new opportunities and challenges. They observed that
despite many positive developments and recent successes in resolving
some regional conflicts, the international political scene was still
marred by strife and tension. They expressed their serious concern
over the unfortunate and tragic consequences of ethnic conflict and
violence afflicting people and communities in many parts of the
world. They stressed that efforts must be intensified to find
peaceful and viable solutions to conflicts of long standing nature
and new problems through greater respect for international law and
universally accepted humanitarian norms and standards.
- The Heads of State or Government noted a number of recent
positive developments in the area of nuclear, chemical and
conventional disarmament including the agreements on bilateral arms
reductions between the United States and the Russian Federation.
They expressed their hope that the implementation of the
far-reaching arms reduction agreed in the Washington Agreement of
June 1992 and START II signed in Moscow in January 1993 would be
successfully carried out. The Leaders urged all Nuclear-Weapon
States to collectively endeavour to attain the ultimate goal of
complete elimination of nuclear arsenals in the shortest possible
time.
- They also underscored the imperative to further broaden and
deepen the dimensions to disarmament and to complement bilateral
approaches to disarmament with effective multilateral approaches.
While welcoming the recent progress in arms reduction at the global
level, the Leaders were convinced that this objective could be best
achieved through the promotion of mutual trust and confidence among
Member States.
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ISSUES
- The Heads of State or Government noted that while it was
important to build peace and create conditions of stability in the
world, it was equally important to promote economic and social
development. They underscored that international cooperation for
development and eradication of poverty were inextricably linked with
the preservation of international peace and security and hence
needed to be treated on an equal footing and pursued with equal
vigour. The Heads of State or Government expressed their grave
concern over the continuing deterioration in economic situation in
the majority of developing countries. The economies of developing
countries, they observed, continued to suffer as a result of limited
market access for their exports, dwindling resource flows, absence
of adequate foreign investment, mounting external indebtedness,
inadequate transfer of technology and the inequities in the global
monetary, financial and trading systems. The Heads of State or
Government noted that although the developing countries themselves
had the primary responsibility for their economic development, the
role of developed countries remained central to the revival of the
growth of the world economy - in particular the economies of the
developing countries.
- The Heads of State or Government reiterated the vital importance
of economic interdependence among nations and of the need for
reviving North-South dialogue. They fully endorsed the view that
there should be more equitable economic opportunities for all
nations. These should include such important features as the
strengthening of a free, open and non-discriminatory multilateral
trading system, effective macro-economic coordination and fiscal
discipline to ensure stable conditions conducive to development in
the global economy. They also reiterated their firm support for the
broadening of the coordination of international macro-economic
policies to take into account concerns of all countries, specially
the developing countries. Referring to the competing demands for
capital and investment resources, the Heads of State or Government
underscored the need to ensure the adequate flow of investment
resources to the developing countries through increasing global
savings and a more equitable utilization of the peace dividends. In
this context the Heads of State or Government also underscored the
need to fulfil the internationally agreed aid targets for the
developing countries and the Least Developed Countries. They
emphasized on the need for exceptional finance to facilitate
implementation of economic reform programmes in SAARC Countries.
- The Heads of State or Government also strongly underlined the
need to continue efforts to seek a comprehensive, durable and
growth-oriented solution to the external indebtedness of the
developing countries. This, they stressed, was essential to
accelerate the process of growth in these countries. A lasting
solution to the debt crisis, the Heads of State or Government noted,
must take into account the need to significantly reduce the stock
and service of all types of debts of indebted developing countries
to augment the concessional aid flows to SAARC Countries and work
out anticipatory measures to prevent the recurrence and
proliferation of the debt problem.
- The Heads of State or Government also underlined the importance
of a strengthened and liberalized international trading system. In
this context, they noted that the successful conclusion of the
Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations was a matter of
great importance to the developing countries. Failure of the Round,
the Leaders noted, would only further impair economic growth and
encourage protectionist policy seriously weakening the multilateral
trading system. The Heads of State or Government strongly urged the
major partners in the Negotiations to demonstrate their political
will and take positive steps to ensure without further delay a
satisfactory conclusion of the Uruguay Round. They further stressed
that although the main thrust of these negotiations in the recent
past had been in respect of new issues, there was an imperative need
to ensure that the Uruguay Round fully take into account the
concerns and interests of developing countries. This, the Heads of
State or Government stressed, was particularly important. The
Leaders underscored the need to speedily conclude the current round
of negotiations in a transparent, balanced and expeditious manner.
They also stressed that before the conclusion of the Uruguay Round
of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, an evaluation of results be held
from the point of view of developing countries.
- The Heads of State or Government expressed their concern over the
increasing stock of anti-dumping and countervailing duty
investigations against the exports of developing countries and the
new threats to a liberal trading order in the form of measures taken
in pursuit of the goals relating to workers' rights and the
environment.
PROJECTION OF COLLECTIVE POSITIONS
- The Heads of State or Government were of the view that greater
consultations among the delegations of SAARC Countries in all
international fora on the major issues of common concern to them
would be in the interest of all their countries. They felt that the
development of collective positions on such issues in the
international fora would enhance the international profile of South
Asia and would enable the countries in the region to articulate
their position on them more effectively. They reiterated their
common resolve to concert their position in all international fora
and negotiations with a view to deriving maximum benefits from them
in accordance with their needs and common priorities.
- The Heads of State or Government underscored the vital importance
attached by their countries to the forthcoming Second World
Conference on Human Rights in 1993, the World Population Conference
in 1994 and the 1995 World Conference on Women. They also supported
the convening of a World Summit for Social Development. The Heads of
State or Government stressed the need to develop a common South
Asian perspective on the issues to be discussed by these important
international conferences. They also underscored the imperative to
coordinate the position of SAARC countries in order to ensure a
balanced equitable and action oriented outcome of these conferences.
OBSERVER STATUS
- The Heads of State or Government decided that an Expert Group of
the Member States will examine the various requests for observer
status at SAARC/SAARC meetings in all its aspects on the basis of a
working paper to be prepared by the Secretariat and make appropriate
recommendations to the Nineteenth Session of the Standing Committee.
In this respect, they welcomed the offer of Sri Lanka to host the
Expert Group Meeting.
CONCLUSION
- The Heads of State or Government expressed their deep
satisfaction over the positive outcome of the Seventh SAARC Summit
and expressed their conviction that this Summit would greatly
contribute towards strengthening the policies and cooperative
actions of the Member States in response to the challenges of the
1990s and beyond in areas where SAARC has a distinct contribution to
make. They also reiterated once again their determination to
strengthen and enrich SAARC as an instrument - endowing it with a
clear set of forward looking goals and objectives as well as all the
requisite institutional capacities - so that it can continue to work
to enrich not only the lives of its own members but also promote
peace, progress and stability in South Asia in a larger context.
DATE AND VENUE OF THE EIGHTH MEETING OF THE SAARC HEADS OF STATE
OR GOVERNMENT
- The Heads of State or Government gratefully accepted the offer of
India to host the Eighth SAARC Summit in 1994.
- The Heads of State or Government of Bhutan, India, the Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka expressed their sincere appreciation
for the exemplary manner in which the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
had conducted the Meeting and guided its proceedings in her capacity
as Chairperson. They expressed their deep gratitude for the warm and
generous hospitality extended to them by the Government and people
of Bangladesh and for the excellent arrangements made for the
Meeting.
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