Mahinda tells SAARC to focus on people

Uditha Jayasinghe reporting from the Maldives

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his address at the opening ceremony of the 17th SAARC summit, focused on the need to create solutions for the youth of south Asia.  

He expressed confidence that the SAARC summit would result in more agreements that will promote trade. Belief in the people is the greatest strength for this region he opined, urging all members to develop their potential.

“This is why we have been committed to development programs that give inclusivity. Rural schools of all our countries need to have their resources improved so that no one is excluded. We in Sri Lanka are passionate believers in social mobility. Education, telecommunications and technology must be made available to all people. This is the only way political empowerment can be enjoyed by our people,” he said.  

Social equity must go hand in hand with economic progress, he remarked adding that it needs to be manifested in infrastructure. Intervention by governments was recommended by him to ensure that economic growth and freedoms are enjoyed by people at grass root level.

“There is no board plan that fits everyone.” The challenges of SAARC are “formidable” he acknowledged but expressed confidence that traditional beliefs and practices should be the basis of the solution to the problems and “not things that are imported from outside.”

Development cannot be measured by money alone, he stressed. People were recommended by him as being a yardstick for growth.

“As leaders of SAARC we must draw on the collective resources of this organisation to serve the people. There is a rule of urgency because a large number of people in our region are young and they look forward to a prosperous future. They cannot be kept waiting for long. The areas of social justice and climate change need not just more discussion, but immediate action.”

He expressed certainty that there is enough resolve and vision to deal effectively and deliver to the expectations of the people. “Let’s make SAARC a potent instrument,” he said in conclusion.   

Earlier in the day he met with Indian and Nepal Prime Ministers as well as the Afghanistan president for bilateral talks.

With Nepal, he discussed the possibility of starting flights between religiously important destinations such as Lumbini and Sri Lanka as well as called for the formation of a bilateral committee to focus on increased trade between the two nations.    

Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai commended the president for being consistently concerned with the country and requested for assistance in rebuilding efforts. Sri Lanka’s progress in resettlement and economic growth was also discussed at the meetings.

In their addresses at the opening ceremony of the 17th SAARC summit the Indian and Pakistan Prime Minister’s echoed their progressive meeting during the morning describing each other as “peace loving, open minded and progressive” people. Both agreed that the next round of talks would open a “new chapter’ in the relations between the two countries. Issues discussed between the two included counter-terrorism issues in Kashmir as well.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa (far right) with other world leaders at the summit