Signing unlikely

The three key deals that were supposed to be signed by the Saarc member countries at the 18th Saarc Summit in Kathmandu are unlikely to happen.

The three agreements are: Saarc Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic amongst Saarc member states, Saarc Regional Railways Agreement and Saarc Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity).

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque revealed this at a press briefing in Kathmandu after the first day meeting of Saarc Standing Committee, scheduled to end today.

The cabinet of Bangladesh and India had approved the deals.

There is strong intent and political commitment among the member states in favour of signing the deals. But some countries are yet to complete the internal process. So these deals are unlikely to be signed, he told the press.

The summit is scheduled for November 26-27.

The foreign secretary, however, said efforts were on to complete the internal procedures. "Let us see."

He said almost half of the agendas for their Saarc Standing Committee, comprised of the Saarc foreign secretaries, had been taken care of in the first day of the meet and the issues of integration and connectivity, energy cooperation were given priority.

Shahidul said all members were agreed on expediting the implementation of decisions made in the Saarc forum.

Bangladesh would focus on 10 core issues for strengthening cooperation at the 18th Saarc Summit, themed “Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity”. Youth development, poverty alleviation, improvement of connectivity, climate change, science and technology, education, women empowerment, food security and combating terrorism are among them.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would lead a 37-member Bangladesh delegation to the summit.

At the 41st meeting of the Saarc Standing Committee yesterday, the Maldives Foreign Secretary Ali Naseer Mohamed handed over the chair of the committee to Nepal's acting foreign secretary Shanker Das Bairagi

Taking over the chair, Bairagi said, "As terrorism in all its form and manifestation has remained a formidable challenge for our region, coordinated and concerted efforts are required to tackle the situation."

He said poverty alleviation had remained a major issue on the Saarc agenda for decades and despite consistent efforts, a quarter of South Asian people still live in poverty and hunger.

On the acute energy deficit in the region, Bairagi observed, “We can make tremendous progress through meaningful cooperation in this sector. So, trade has a huge potential to make the region a vibrant economic zone and strong commitment and decisive actions are required to fully and effectively implement South Asian Free Trade Area [Safta] agreement.”

The secretaries also reviewed the progress in the implementation of their earlier decisions.

At the meeting, Saarc Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa presented periodic analytical reports on progress made by Saarc and its future course of action.

Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Sri Lankan Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs Ms Kshenuka Senewiratne and Afghanistan's Deputy Director for Regional Cooperation Seddiq Rasuli are attending the meeting.