Islamabad, Dec. 07 (TNS): A ceremony to mark the 34th SAARC Charter Day was held at the foreign office in Islamabad today.
Addressing the ceremony, Secretary Foreign Affairs Tehmina Janjua said this day reminds us to respond positively and effectively to the growing and multifaceted challenges faced by the region.
She said all the member countries need to work together with cohesion to transform the lives of their peoples and alleviate poverty from the region. She said this is the commitment expressed repeatedly by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The Foreign Secretary said South Asia being home to 1.7 billion talented, energetic and educated human resource and abundantly blessed with natural resources must not be left behind.
She pointed out that SAARC countries over the years have focused on poverty alleviation. However life of a large population remains far from satisfactory. We have enormous responsibility to deliver on this front.
The foreign secretary said that being founding member, Pakistan stands steadfastly by the principles of SAARC charter. He said Pakistan continues to believe in the viability of the organization. She said by adhering to the principles of sovereign equality and mutual respect amongst member countries, we can guide the organization towards achieving our cherished goal of a prosperous and developed South Asian Region. She said it is in the same spirit that Pakistan had made preparations to host the 19th SAARC summit in Islamabad. She said we look forward to host the summit to take forward the agenda of SAARC.
Addressing the ceremony Director SAARC energy center Naeem Malik highlighted the potential of energy cooperation especially the renewables amongst the South Asian countries. He said regional cooperation can lead to economic prosperity of the peoples in the region.
In his remarks, President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nandana Jayaruwan Edirisinghe stressed for removing trade barriers amongst the regional countries in order to fully exploit the economic potential of the region.
The ceremony was attended by the ambassadors and high commissioners from different countries.
