Prime Minister
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee's "I am grateful to our gracious hosts and particularly to our friend, the President of Sri Lanka, for the warm welcome and splendid hospitality extended to us. It is indeed a pleasure for me to be in Colombo to participate in the Tenth SAARC Summit. This is my first visit abroad since assuming Office and it is only doubly appropriate that this is to attend the SAARC Summit - my first, and, to Sri Lanka, a country with which we share the closest bonds of friendship stretching back to antiquity. Our traditional historical links have been reinforced in recent times by our shared struggle against colonialism and our post-independence experience as countries seeking to develop within a democratic framework. We are meeting in the Golden Jubilee year of Sri Lanka's independence. This gives our meeting added significance. Sri Lanka has made remarkable progress since its independence and it is with a sense of justifiable pride that its people are celebrating so joyously the 50th Anniversary of their Independence. I convey warm greetings and felicitations to you and to the Government and people of Sri Lanka on this happy occasion. Madam Chairperson, Our presence here today is a reflection of the affection and regard in which we all hold you. Our efforts to strengthen cooperation in our region have benefited greatly from the personal interest you have taken and the many initiatives you have suggested. Indeed, Sri Lanka has played a key role in forging a consensus on the vital issues of trade and economic cooperation in our region. I am sure that under your able guidance, this Summit will chart a concrete and forward-looking agenda for the future. I would also like to express our deep appreciation for the wise counsel and able leadership provided by His Excellency President Gayoom in steering our Association over the last year. Since the establishment of SAARC in 1985, this organisation has contributed to fostering regional cooperation. The first steps are always difficult. Over the years SAARC has gained experience. The people of the region now expect to see the economic benefits of regional cooperation touch their lives - this is the promise and the challenge that we must collectively address. Today, as we stand on the threshold of a new century, we need to evolve a shared vision of the future of our region. Such a vision must be rooted in our common values and be based on our individual and collective strengths that will enable South Asia to realise its full potential in the coming century. Major economic changes are taking place in the world around us, which have a significant impact on our region. The twin trends of globalisation and liberalisation have dramatically altered the dynamics of the international economic environment. The increasing globalisation of economic processes has been accompanied by the emergence and consolidation of vast new economic groupings. The financial crisis in many countries including in East Asia has exposed the vulnerability of even relatively dynamic developing economies, as well as the weakness of the international monetary and financial liberalisation. There is need for SAARC countries to identify, understand and face up to these challenges. We have, so far, not had to face similar difficulties in South Asia. We need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our structures and policies so as to make sure that we are able to avoid the difficulties while taking full advantage of the globalisation and liberalisation that we are determined to follow. I propose that the Governors of our Central Banks and Finance Secretaries meet annually to have a dialogue on macro-economic policies and to share experiences and ideas. Strengthening the framework of our economic cooperation must remain the focus of the SAARC agenda. All Governments should ensure that there are no delays in the SAARC process and that agreed time-tables for our various programmes are adhered to. In particular, we should not deny ourselves the benefits of trade liberalisation. Such measures not only promote growth, but would also help in attracting foreign capital and resources to our region as well as in creating an overall climate that is favourable to peace and development. Two rounds of trade liberalisation have been completed. India offered the maximum concessions in these two rounds covering over 1000 tariff lines. We also offered the deepest tariff cuts with special concessions for the Least Developed Countries. The impact of these openings will take some time to be assessed as they came into effect only between March and December last year. The Third Round of SAPTA negotiations made a promising start in July last year with all delegations agreeing to go beyond a product-by-product approach and negotiate concessions on a sectoral or Chapter-wise basis. There has unfortunately been delay in concluding these negotiations. We must collectively ensure that the momentum is maintained and that these talks are concluded quickly. On its part, India is willing to take concrete steps to speed up trade liberalisation. I take this opportunity to offer that, as a special gesture, India will lift Quantitative Restrictions maintained for Balance of Payments reasons on a preferential basis for SAARC countries with effect from August 1, 1998. This would involve lifting restrictions on over 2000 products and would substantially increase the opportunities for our SAARC partners to access our market and increase their exports. Our negotiators would also have the mandate to offer significant tariff reductions during the SAPTA negotiations. Madam Chairperson, Our decision taken last year in Male to advance the
target date for achieving a Free Trade Area had galvanised the business community. We must
reaffirm our commitment to the goal of SAFTA by the year 2001 and take steps to make this
goal a reality. For this purpose, I propose that we begin immediate negotiations on a
separate SAFTA Treaty which will spell out in detail the schedules for freeing trade,
including elimination of discriminatory trade practices, lifting of non-tariff barriers
and tariff reductions. In this process the special needs of the Least Developed Countries
must be taken into account. This would provide a predictable and transparent road-map for
achieving SAFTA and lend greater credibility and weight to our Association. We should aim
to conclude this Treaty and have it in place India would also be willing to consider bilateral Free Trade Agreements with those countries, which are interested in moving faster. Trade and Investment are closely inter-linked. The
promotion of joint ventures would develop trade complementaries and lead to an expansion
of intra-SAARC trade, which is at an unacceptably low level today. An institutional
framework by way of bilateral or regional agreements for investment promotion and
protection is essential to provide the necessary confidence to investors. A Regional
Investment Agreement has been circulated at the First SAARC Meeting on Investment Steps at the institutional level need to be supported by a vigorous private sector effort to identify and implement specific projects on the ground. The decision of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and industry to convene an Annual SAARC Investment Forum is a welcome move. We, in India, have taken specific steps to promote investment by Indian entrepreneurs in SAARC countries. In January this year, we have doubled the ceiling for Overseas Indian Investment in SAARC countries under the Fast Track. I am now announcing a further substantial increase so that investments of up to US $15 million will be cleared on the fast track, thus encouraging further economic cooperation among SAARC countries. Collective self-interest has been the guiding spirit of regional cooperation of the world over. Those regional groupings that have succeeded have done so by creating a common regional economic space, providing for the free flow of goods, capital and services. Our vision should be to look beyond SAFTA to the evolution of a SAARC Economic Community, early in the next century. Our region is energy-deficient even though some of
the countries in our region have considerable untapped energy resources. We could take
some immediate steps towards regional cooperation in this area which will contribute to
the economic well being of the producers and the users. We should also consider
cooperation in infrastructure particularly transportation for removing the bottlenecks for
expeditious movement of goods. Steps, such as these, will facilitate closer Madam Chairperson, Economic growth by itself will not mean much if vast
sections of our people continue to live in hunger and ill-health and without shelter,
clean drinking water and other essentials basic to a life of dignity. Poverty eradication,
therefore, remains central to our development strategy. It is in recognition of this that
SAARC has committed itself to the goal of poverty eradication in the region through a
concerted Agenda of Action. We must make effective use of the SAARC three-tier It is important for SAARC to identify and implement specific technology initiatives, which would have a direct impact in improving living conditions in our villages where the overwhelming majority of our peoples live. Technologies for rural telecommunication, drinking water and sanitation, development of improved plant varieties are some suggestions which come to mind. India would be happy to host a special Meeting of SAARC Ministers for Science and Technology to consider such a SAARC technology initiative. We also offer to host a meeting of our Health Ministers to consider cooperation in the field of traditional systems of medicines in which all our countries have a rich heritage. Madam Chairperson, Apprehensions have been expressed in some quarters that recent developments in South Asia could cause a set back to the SAARC process. Let me say that these apprehensions are misplaced. SAARC cooperation is driven by the imperative need for all South Asian countries to accelerate socio-economic development, reduce and eradicate poverty and enhance the quality of life of their peoples. It is in recognition of this that the founding fathers of SAARC took a conscious decision not to burden it with bilateral concerns, many of which existed even then, and to keep contentious issues out of SAARC. India has scrupulously respected this provision of the SAARC charter. In fact SAARC reminds us that we should seek what unites us and not dwell on our divisions. At the same time, we have every reason to hope that building a positive framework of cooperation in our region will have a beneficial effect on bilateral relations. SAARC also provides a unique opportunity for informal bilateral discussions among the leaders and officials of Member States on the sidelines. Such exchanges do help to promote mutual trust and understanding. Madam Chairperson, Let me categorically reaffirm that India continues to seek good relations with all its neighbours and to work with them to build on our commonalities and shared aspirations for development. Differences should be resolved in a rational manner, peacefully and through bilateral negotiations. We have consistently been in favour of a serious sustained dialogue on these lines. India's strong commitment to global nuclear
disarmament and our conviction that our security as well as that of the rest of the world
would be best ensured in a nuclear- weapons free world, remains a principle element of our
policy. We will continue working on effective programmes and initiatives to reach this
objective. In particular, we will continue working actively for a Nuclear Weapons
Convention providing for the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide within a time bound
framework. This is by no means a utopian position. Experience in dealing with negotiations
on other weapons of mass destruction, such as the Chemical and Biological Weapons
Conventions indicate that the only successful way is to negotiate treaties which are
comprehensive in scope, universal in applicability and non-discriminatory in character. We
are convinced that such an approach is also necessary in dealing with nuclear weapons. We
are sure that SAARC Member Madam Chairperson, I think our deliberations over the next two days will be important. We must concentrate on the economic and social agenda and move forward at a pace which will yield tangible and concrete results and benefits for the over one billion people of our region, to strengthen their faith in SAARC, and in the ability of our peoples to work together for common good. Madam Chairperson, My fellow South Asian leaders, Five millenia of cohabitation are drawing to a close and the sixth is about to start. We have come a long way together and we have to decide how and where we aim to go. We represent great civilizations, ancient yet vibrant and alive. Our people are talented, our lands well endowed. And yet we are among the poorest in the world. Together, we all fought a sustained and successful
campaign of independence, and overcame the mightiest empire in the world. Today, fifty
years after independence, it is time for us to break with the past and declare our
interdependence and our essential oneness even as we celebrate our national diversity. I
offer the following thoughts for your consideration:
let us now grow rich together This is the will of the people, this is the dictate of times and this is the duty of the leaders. Let us not falter. Thank you". |
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