MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFIARS of PAKISTAN’ PARTICIPATE IN THE SAARC 31ST COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING IN COLOMBO
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan, will lead the Pakistan delegation to the 31st Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 27-28 February 2009.The meeting has been preceded by the meetings of the Standing Committee (25-26 February) and the Programming Committee (23-24 February).The meeting is expected to review the implementation of decisions taken at earlier Summits and discuss additional measures to promote regional cooperation. The occasion would also be utilized for bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Council.Over the years, SAARC has made notable progress in a number of areas including trade, finance, poverty alleviation and environment. The meeting would provide a useful opportunity for SAARC Foreign Ministers to review the progress in the above-mentioned and other areas under the ambit of SAARC.Pakistan attaches great importance to SAARC and its activities. Pakistan has contributed meaningfully to the establishment, institutionalization and progress of the body. Pakistan has played a proactive role to reinvigorate SAARC by providing substantive inputs Pakistan has hosted the 4th (1988) and the 12th (2004) SAARC Summits and a number of ministerial and technical level meetings. Speaking at the the 36th Session of the SAARC Standing Committee Foreign Secretary, Mr. Salman Bashir emphasized the need to strengthen regional cooperation to mitigate the effects of the current global financial crisis and enhance cooperation in financial matters. He underlined the need to strengthen SAARC regime to effectively combat the menace of terrorism. He highlighted the need for cooperation among the Saarc countries to focus on Science and Technology to consider multilateral energy cooperation to cope with the energy deficiency in the region and focus on water conservation issues and commissioning a scientific study on melting of glaciers In his remarks, the Foreign Secretary also proposed that a global summit be convened to address the problems arising out of the global financial crisis.
