COLOMBO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The two-day 15th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit closed Sunday afternoon in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo after adopting the Colombo Declaration and signing four agreements on regional cooperation.
Heads of state or government of eight SAARC countries agreed on four agreements on the establishment of a SAARC Development Fund, the creation of a South Asia Standards Institution, the accession of Afghanistan to the South Asian Free Trade Agreement and mutual assistance in criminal matters, which were signed by the SAARC member countries' foreign ministers in the closing session held Sunday afternoon.
"All of us who have participated in the deliberations can draw satisfaction from a most productive and fruitful outcome," Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his closing statement.
Rajapaksa said the summit grappled with the situation of reduced food availability and the increasing cost of energy, two issues that had posed strong challenges throughout the global as well as in the region.
"Both of them, if unchecked, can have the potential of undoing the hard-won development gains that the people of South Asia and their governments have achieved," Rajapaksa said.
According to the Colombo Statement on Food Security, the heads of state or government affirmed their resolve to ensure region-wide food security and make South Asia the granary of the world once again.
Leaders of the South Asian nations directed the SAARC Food Bankbe urgently operationalized and emphasized the drawing up of the SAARC Agriculture Perspective 2020.
Besides the statement on food security, the SAARC leaders approved a eight-page Colombo Declaration titled "Partnership for Growth for Our People" and signed by foreign ministers of eight SAARC countries.
"The heads of state or government reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and objectives in the SAARC Charter," said the Colombo Declaration. "They renewed their resolve for collective regional efforts to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development."
The Colombo Declaration said SAARC has been making steady and incremental progress over the years towards realizing the objectives of the SAARC Charter.
The SAARC leaders also recognized that terrorism has become a great menace throughout the world and condemned all forms of terrorist violence and emphasized that the SAARC member states should cooperate through the exchange of information on terrorism and organized crime.
The SAARC heads of state or government also welcomed the accessions of Australia and Myanmar to the organization as new observers, together with seven other observers namely, China, Iran, Japan South Korea, Mauritius, the United States and the European Union.
The two-day 15th SAARC summit opened Saturday in Colombo with the attendance of leaders from eight member countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with a population of about 1.5 billion.
The main issues discussed at the summit were poverty alleviation, food security, energy crisis, terrorism and climate change.
Representatives from China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Republic of Korea and the United States also participated in the 15th SAARC Summit as observers. The summit decided to move the 16th SAARC will be held in Maldivian capital Male next year.
Heads of state or government of eight SAARC countries agreed on four agreements on the establishment of a SAARC Development Fund, the creation of a South Asia Standards Institution, the accession of Afghanistan to the South Asian Free Trade Agreement and mutual assistance in criminal matters, which were signed by the SAARC member countries' foreign ministers in the closing session held Sunday afternoon.
"All of us who have participated in the deliberations can draw satisfaction from a most productive and fruitful outcome," Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his closing statement.
Rajapaksa said the summit grappled with the situation of reduced food availability and the increasing cost of energy, two issues that had posed strong challenges throughout the global as well as in the region.
"Both of them, if unchecked, can have the potential of undoing the hard-won development gains that the people of South Asia and their governments have achieved," Rajapaksa said.
According to the Colombo Statement on Food Security, the heads of state or government affirmed their resolve to ensure region-wide food security and make South Asia the granary of the world once again.
Leaders of the South Asian nations directed the SAARC Food Bankbe urgently operationalized and emphasized the drawing up of the SAARC Agriculture Perspective 2020.
Besides the statement on food security, the SAARC leaders approved a eight-page Colombo Declaration titled "Partnership for Growth for Our People" and signed by foreign ministers of eight SAARC countries.
"The heads of state or government reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and objectives in the SAARC Charter," said the Colombo Declaration. "They renewed their resolve for collective regional efforts to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development."
The Colombo Declaration said SAARC has been making steady and incremental progress over the years towards realizing the objectives of the SAARC Charter.
The SAARC leaders also recognized that terrorism has become a great menace throughout the world and condemned all forms of terrorist violence and emphasized that the SAARC member states should cooperate through the exchange of information on terrorism and organized crime.
The SAARC heads of state or government also welcomed the accessions of Australia and Myanmar to the organization as new observers, together with seven other observers namely, China, Iran, Japan South Korea, Mauritius, the United States and the European Union.
The two-day 15th SAARC summit opened Saturday in Colombo with the attendance of leaders from eight member countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with a population of about 1.5 billion.
The main issues discussed at the summit were poverty alleviation, food security, energy crisis, terrorism and climate change.
Representatives from China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Republic of Korea and the United States also participated in the 15th SAARC Summit as observers. The summit decided to move the 16th SAARC will be held in Maldivian capital Male next year.
