South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
May 3, 2011
Secretary-General Dhiyana Saeed leaves for Hanoi
H. E. Uz. Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, Secretary-General of SAARC, left Kathmandu today to attend the Fifth Informal Meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers to be held in Hanoi on 4 May 2011. The meeting is being convened on the sidelines of the 44th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The meeting, which is to be chaired by the Hon. Finance Minister of Bhutan, will be devoted to the theme, Food Price Inflation - Its Impact and Policy Responses.
So far, four informal meetings of the SAARC Finance Ministers have been organized on the sidelines of the annual meetings of ADB: Hyderabad (India), 2006; Kyoto (Japan), 2007; Madrid (Spain), 2008; and Bali (Indonesia), May 2009.
SAARCFinance Ministers have also been meeting in formal session under the auspices of the Association. They have so far met four times: Pakistan (2006), India (2008), the Maldives (2009), and Bhutan (2010).
The Fifth SAARC Finance Ministers is to convene in Bangladesh in 2011.
http://www.saarc-sec.org/2011/05/03/news/Secretary-General-Dhiyana-Saeed-leaves-for-Hanoi/55/
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We, the Heads of State or Government of BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, INDIA, MALDIVES, NEPAL, PAKISTAN and SRI LANKA;
1. Desirous of promoting peace, stability, amity and progress in the region through strict adherence to the principles of the UNITED NATIONS CHARTER and NON-ALIGNMENT, particularly respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence, non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and peaceful settlement of all disputes;
2. Conscious that in an increasingly interdependent world, the objectives of peace, freedom, social justice and economic prosperity are best achieved in the SOUTH ASIAN region by fostering mutual understanding, good neighbourly relations and meaningful cooperation among the Member States which are bound by ties of history and culture;
3. Aware of the common problems, interests and aspirations of the peoples of SOUTH ASIA and the need for joint action and enhanced cooperation within their respective political and economic systems and cultural traditions;
4. Convinced that regional cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA is mutually beneficial, desirable and necessary for promoting the welfare and improving the quality of life of the peoples of the region;
5. Convinced further that economic, social and technical cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA would contribute significantly to national and collective self-reliance;
6. Recognising that increased cooperation, contacts and exchanges among the countries of the region will contribute to the promotion of friendship and understanding among their peoples;
7. Recalling the DECLARATION signed by their Foreign Ministers in NEW DELHI on August 2, 1983 and noting the progress achieved in regional cooperation;
8. Reaffirming their determination to promote such cooperation within an institutional framework;
DO HEREBY AGREE to establish an organisation to be known as SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION hereinafter referred to as the ASSOCIATION, with the following objectives, principles, institutional and financial arrangements: read more @ http://www.saarc-sec.org/SAARC-Charter/5/
