Miscellaneous
PM expresses Nepal’s firm commitment to Saarc process
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that Nepal’s unflinching commitment to Saarc process is very much intact as enshrined in the Saarc Charter.Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that Nepal’s unflinching commitment to Saarc process is very much intact as enshrined in the Saarc Charter.
In his message on the occasion of the 31st Saarc Charter Day on Thursday, PM Dahal, on behalf of the government of Nepal and as a founding member and current chair of the Saarc, said, “I take this opportunity to reiterate Nepal’s unflinching commitments to the ideals, values, principles and objectives as enshrined in the SAARC Charter.
At a time when Saarc process has been questioned by some section in the region followed by a recent militant attack in an Indian Army base in Uri, India announced that it would not participate in the 19th Saarc Summit scheduled to take place in Islamabad. The summit was ultimately called off.
“On the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the establishment of Saarc and Saarc Charter Day, I have great pleasure to extend my warmest greetings and best wishes to all fellow South Asian citizens,” PM Dahal in his message. “Three decades ago on this very day, we embarked together on a common journey of regional cooperation with the aim of eradicating poverty and achieving peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia,” he said. “During its journey, Saarc has made several achievements in terms of setting up of institutions, mechanisms, and developing norms and practices.”
Stating that South Asia has a huge potential to transform the development landscape of the region, PM Dahal said, “To achieve this, Saarc has to redouble its efforts in deepening cooperation.”
“Our organisation needs to focus more on the delivery of concrete results through effective implementation of our commitments and decisions made so far,” he added. “We must fulfil the aspirations of our people through the execution of results-oriented projects and programmes in a time-bound manner.”
PM Dahal also called on all member states to make a pledge to work together to achieve economic, social and cultural development in the region by resolutely combating common challenges of poverty, unemployment, terrorism, transnational crimes and climate change.
“Realising goals and objectives as set out in the Saarc Charter calls for strong political commitment, concerted actions and an enabling environment in the region,” he said. “May this Charter Day inspire us to further deepen regional integration for peace, progress and prosperity by fostering mutual trust, understanding, amity, cooperation and partnership among us to the broader and longer interests of our region.”