Spotlight on climate change, terrorism/ SAARC summit opens

Spotlight on climate change, terrorism
SAARC summit opens
ANIS ALAMGIR, THIMPHU

The leaders of South Asia called for fighting the climate change together when April 28, the 16th SAARC summit opened here yesterday as the region is most vulnerable to natural disasters related to climate change.
The concern over the climate change dominated the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit as speaker after speaker in the opening session underscored the need to fight climate change unitedly, alongside securing food, water and energy, fighting terrorism for the betterment of over 150 crore people of the SAARC comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
"Global warming and climate change have already impacted our nations with the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, rising sea level, erratic precipitation, land degradation, desertification and salinity," said Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina in her speech at the opening session of the summit, adding:…"To face these challenges, a historic approach is imperative at the regional and global levels."
Most half of her speech focused on the climate change issue. Indian's prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh said: "There is perhaps no region more vulnerable to the effects of climate change that ours." He announced that India was setting up an 'Indian Endowment for Climate Change in South Asia' to help member states in meeting urgent adaptation and capacity building needs. "I will also propose the setting up of Climate Innovation Centre in South Asia to develop sustainable energy technologies based on indigenous resource endowments", Singh added.
Pakistan's prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said: "The theme of the summit reflects our common concern on global warming, with all its attendant and multifaceted challenges."
He said: "We must focus on sharing best practices and pool our resources to adopt region-wise mitigation and adaptation measures."
In his speech Bhutanese prime minister Jigme Y. Thinley said his country had a national forest cover of 72 per cent, dedicated 50 per cent of the land area as natural reserve and took up a programme to promote Bhutan as an organic band. Urging other south Asian countries to follow Bhutan's eco-supporting policies and steps to mitigate climate challenges the Bhutanese premier said: "Through such measures, we hope to preserve our fragile Himalayan ecology and remain for ever a carbon neutral country as pledged at the COP 15 summit in Copenhagen."
Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa said: "The impact of climate change is acute and is the common concern for all of us in the region, from the snow-capped mountain of Nepal and Bhutan to the sandy beaches of Maldives and Sri Lanka."
The summit was also overshadowed by the issue of terrorism and the leaders said a united fight was needed against violence if the region was to develop.
Terming extremism and terrorism as the biggest threats to peace and prosperity in the region, Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged all to set aside differences so that SAARC could decisively defeat terrorism. "The most challenging threats we all face are those of terrorism, extremism, narcotics, and organised crime. Our collaboration under SAARC can yield tangible and concrete solution to the problems of poverty, human suffering and deprivation in our region," said Hamid Karzai when Afghanistan battles a resurgent Taliban and its effects singe Pakistan's western borders.
"Terrorism has affected our region and impacted each one of us. Against the forces of extremism and intolerance, we need to forge a common front, based on tolerance, on respect for human dignity and universal values," Pakistan's prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said.
He hoped that the forthcoming meeting of the SAARC home ministers in Islamabad would help strengthen cooperation in this vital area. India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani are due to meet on Thursday evening on the sidelines of the conference to try and salvage the peace process.
Perhaps, this is for the first time that Indo-Pak conflict has not hijacked the attention of the summit from broader and more complex issues involving this nearly 25-year-old regional grouping. This is also for the first time the SAARC summit has started when governments of the member states are enjoying almost stable position in their home. This year's SAARC summit theme is "Conservation of environment and climate".
The opening session of the two-day summit started at the grand assembly hall in Thimphu in the afternoon with SAARC chairperson and president of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa in the chair. After that host Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley presented his address of welcome and soon after assumed the SAARC chair for the next one year. India's prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Maldives president Mohammed Naseed, Nepal's prime minister Madhav Kumar Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai and Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina spoke on behalf of their respective countries.
Observers from Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, the Republic of Korea, the United States and the European Union also spoke at the grand gathering of south Asia giving assurance to work together with SAARC on climate change. Bob McMullam, MP, Parliamentary secretary for international division assistance of Australia, Wang Guangya, vice foreign minister of China, Manouchehr Mottaki, foreign minister of Iran, Chinami Nishimura, parliamentary vice minister for foreign affairs of Japan, V Neethalia Win, Second secretary New Delhi High Commission of Mauritius, Nyan Win, minister for foreign minister of Myanmar, Yong-Joon Lee, deputy minister of foreign affairs and trade of South Korea, Robert Orris Blake, assistant secretary of state of the USA, and on behalf of the European Union, Jose Luis Garcia-Galan, deputy director for Asia of the Spanish ministry of foreign affairs, represented their government and organisations at the summit. SAARC secretary general Dr Sheel Kant Sharma also delivered his statement.
The SAARC leaders inaugurated the permanent secretariat of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF). Bhutanese prime minister made a short statement and cut the ribbon on plaque on behalf of the SAARC leaders. The SDF will serve as the umbrella financial institution for all SAARC projects and solve the problems arising from the proliferation of financing mechanisms under the SAARC. Donors and member countries will be contributing various amounts for it.
The opening ceremony concluded in the evening. The leaders attended a banquet hosted by Bhutanese prime minister at Tashichho Dzong. Bhutanese prime minister and newly elected SAARC chairperson Jigme Y. Thinley will address the press on Thursday.
Bhutan, a founder member of the SAARC, is hosting the summit for the first time within two years of the establishment of a democratically elected government in 2008 ending the 100-year monarchy. The Thimphu summit also coincides with the 25th birthday of the organisation created in December 8, 1985 in Dhaka. The two-day summit will end on Thursday evening after adopting the Thimphu Declaration and signing agreements on regional cooperation. Two agreements - one on environment and the other on trade in services-are ready to be signed by the foreign ministers of eight member countries in the presence of summit leaders. Before that the SAARC leaders will have joint royal audience with His Majesty the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
The leaders will go for the Summit Retreat at Bhutan House at the SAARC village in Thimphu.
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the independent
29-4-2010