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Summary
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani termed peace as a prerequisite for regional development. He was addressing the 16th Saarc conference in Thimpu, Bhutan on Wednesday. The PM said that the Saarc meeting would prove to be a historic milestone for regional harmony and uplift. The PM called for both individual and collective efforts for poverty alleviation, establishment of peace, promotion of health and education in the region. Gilani deplored that only five percent trade is recorded among the South Asian states, however, said that South Asia could become an engine for global economy. He urged greater coordination for intra-regional trade. He called to redouble efforts to conserve eco resources of the region and said that area-wise mitigation of issue be assessed in the summit. He also emphasized regional cooperation for water conservation, and hailed Saarc for proving to be a catalyst in harnessing the resources.The PM said that We must give our people security of water, food, security from terror and conflict and want and poverty. Terrorism is both a regional and international issue and as such coordination on all the levels is needed to curtail it, the PM maintained.He hailed establishment of Saarc Development Fund, saying that it would redress public problems. SA must march together for development: ManmohanPrime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that the 21st century cannot be an Asian one unless South Asia marches together. Singh said in his address at the 16th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit.I believe we should challenge ourselves by acknowledging that the glass of regional cooperation, regional development and regional integration is half empty. The prime minister said it was unfortunate that the people of South Asia together do not have the voice they should have in the global polity. We have created institutions for regional cooperation, but we have not yet empowered them adequately to enable them to be more pro-active, the Indian prime minister said. He said the challenge before the grouping was to translate institutions into activities, conventions into programmes, official statements into popular sentiments. Karzai calls for joint efforts to curb terror Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that terrorism and extremism are common threats facing the region and world. The most challenging threat we all face is terrorism, extremism, narcotics and organized crime, Karzai said. He termed Saarc as a platform for the region to work jointly against the menace of terrorism.
