Mr. Chairman, Your Majesties, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen:
After Dhaka and Bangalore, we meet again in the beautiful city of Kathmandu. I am sure each one of us has his own memories of this historic city. My wife and I had the honour and privilege of being the guests of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Nepal two years ago, and we have lasting memories of this unique nation and of its friendly and hospitable people. It is a pleasure, therefore, to be once again in Nepal, and I take this opportunity to thank His Majesty the King, His Majesty’s Government and the Nepalese people for the warm hospitality extended to us.
Before proceeding further, I would like to extend to you, Your Majesty, my sincere felicitations on your assumption of the chairmanship of our Association for the next twelve months. I am confident that we will gain further strength and vitality from your able leadership.
May I also join my colleagues in expressing deep appreciation of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for the inspiration and the guidance he has provided our Association during his tenure of office as Chairman. It is my pleasure, too, to convey our best wishes to the Secretary-General, Mr. Abul Ahsan, who is already performing his duties in co-ordinating our work in all the agreed areas of co-operation.
Mr. Chairman, Majesties, Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates:
During the last twelve months since we met in Bangalore, SAARC has moved ahead on many fronts. In the new but vital area of women in development, a number of workshops and seminars have helped in sharing information and experience to enhance the role of women in the development processes of our respective countries. The women’s journal “Solidarity”, the first issue of which is to be published in conjunction with this Summit symbolises our joint efforts in this regard. The emphasis on the situation of children laid by the Bangalore Declaration, has been consolidated by the work we have done in reviewing the status of children, which will hopefully lead to the formulation of specific measures aimed at improving the health and welfare of the children of our seven nations.
During the past year, we have also agreed on a comprehensive plan to combat terrorism which has become the plague of international politics today, and which not only endangers the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children the world over, but poses great threats to the security and welfare of the human society at large. The Final Act of the Draft SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, which our Foreign Ministers are to sign later, clearly demonstrates our will at the highest level to fight this growing international evil.
The Maldives is happy to note also that SAARC has flexed its muscles in the war against illegal drugs and drug abuse. Like the terrorist the drug trafficker is never idle. To compound the misery of mankind in this area, a new but deadly and fast-spreading terror has reared its head world-wide, and I refer to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. Drug addicts constitute a majority of AIDS carriers. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we control drug abuse in our countries, as well as contribute to all regional and international efforts aimed at fighting the spread of AIDS in order to safeguard our future generations.
My country also takes satisfaction in the progress achieved in other areas of our joint endeavours. Here I make a particular note of the establishment of a South Asian Food Security Reserve. Considering the frequent droughts and other disasters that affect our countries which often lead to severe food shortages, the establishment of a Food Security Reserve is an important step towards alleviating the adverse consequences of such calamities.
Though bilateral relations do not come under the banner of SAARC, I am sure that everyone of us is happy to note the new understanding reached between the two brotherly countries of Sri Lanka and India as a result of the recent Indo-Lankan Peace Accord. I take this opportunity to salute the courage and political wisdom shown by President Jayewardene and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in arriving at a most difficult solution to the 4-year long communal strife in Sri Lanka. Although many problems remain to be solved, I feel sure that the spirit generated by the agreement will pave the way for a lasting settlement to the ethnic dispute in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Chairman, when we look at the world political scene, it is disturbing to observe that no real progress has been achieved in regional or international efforts to solve the problems of the Middle East, Southern Africa, Afghanistan and Central America. Moreover, the escalation of the Gulf War in recent months, with almost daily attacks on merchant shipping, has increased the chances of big power confrontation in the region. If the international community is not able to bring sufficient pressure to bear upon the parties to the conflict to put an immediate end to this prolonged and tragic war, the security and stability of the whole world may be at stake.
On the brighter side, amid the dark clouds of mounting tension in many areas of the world, a glimpse of hope has appeared recently by the agreement in principle between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning the elimination of medium and short range missiles. People around the world share the hope that a firm agreement on the issue be reached in the coming months, and that this will constitute a first step in the long and difficult road of arms control and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction.
In the global economic horizon, the picture as a whole is more than disturbing. Despite efforts to undertake structural adjustments and policy reforms in order to increase economic efficiency, the drying up financial flows and unjust trading conditions have kept most developing countries in deep economic trouble. The debt service burden of many third world countries is already onerous and likely to get worse. With the developed countries expected to grow by an average of not more than 2.5% this year, we have to be prepared to work overtime to accelerate our economic growth in order to offset the adverse effects of the twin threats of recession and inflation that once again looms large over the world.
Mr. Chairman, the uneven growth in the world’s economies has in certain cases been traced to environmental phenomena that subject countries to the vagaries of abnormal weather that take their toll on both people’s lives and livelihood. We need not go any further than our own countries to cite examples of such calamities. While floods and cyclones have hit Bangladesh in succession, leaving in their wake thousands dead and homeless, and millions of acres of cultivated land destroyed, parts of India are suffering from the effects of an unprecedented drought. Three times this year, unusual tidal swells at high water time have battered my country’s shorelines, causing extensive damage to infrastructure, to our international airport and to the agricultural sector.
Against the backdrop of these natural calamities, the recent SAARC seminar held in Hyderabad on disaster management was both timely and useful. I think it is high time that we develop within SAARC a mechanism through which we are able to monitor and assess the effects of such natural disasters that hit any of our countries, train personnel dealing with disaster management and mobilise resources for reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Mr. Chairman, it may be relevant here to note that two weeks ago I had the privilege of participating in the UN Special Debate on the Issues of Environment and Development in the course of which I called the attention of the international community to the imminent danger posed by the oceans of the world to the coastal regions of the five continents and more particularly, to low-lying island nations. Scientists are agreed that there has been a noticeable rise in global sea level over the last 100 years and they have projected that, if oceans of the world continue to rise at the same rate, in forty years’ time, up to 27% of the land in Bangladesh and over 20% of the Nile Delta in Egypt would be inundated. The coastal plains in the US and the Netherlands would suffer erosion and increased flooding from storms. The consequences for the Maldives, where the islands are on average not more than six feet above sea level, could be catastrophic. Since two member countries of SAARC - Bangladesh and the Maldives - are likely to be two of the worst affected nations of the world if the present trend in sea level rise continued for the next few decades, I believe it vitally important that we in SAARC give a very high priority to this looming threat to our very survival.
Today, we are also threatened by the global crisis of environmental degradation man has invoked upon himself through interventions in nature. Scientists worldwide are concerned that the build-up of industrial wastes are seriously endangering the human environment - the phenomenon of sea level rise being one of the direct results of man’s abuse of environment. The potential dangers of environmental change have drawn the attention of the United Nations and other world bodies which are considering the issue in order to prevent further environmental damage. It is, therefore, essential that we in SAARC also give the matter our immediate attention and join in the struggle for environmental protection and conservation.
Mr. Chairman, Majesties, Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates:
With some solid achievements behind us and determined efforts to expand and strengthen co-operation, the Maldives is confident of unlimited prospects for SAARC in the future. For as long as we have the will to co-operate in meeting the challenges facing us as a unified force for the common good of our peoples, fortified by a belief in a shared destiny for our seven nations, our future generations will be secure and happy.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.