COMMERCE MINISTERS OF SAARC COUNTRIES MEET IN DHAKA

The third meeting of the Commerce Ministers was held in Dhaka on 2-3 February immediately after the tenth meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation comprising Secretaries of Commerce of member countries. Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, while inaugurating the meeting drew attention to the significance of establishing the linkage between trade and investment, which is particularly important for LDCs.

The Prime Minister noted that while SAARC had made considerable progress, it was essential to ensure that preferential trading arrangements benefit all States. She also emphasised the major impact that globalisation and liberalisation would have on the realm of trade and finance. Since the developing countries faced new challenges today, it was necessary, the Prime Minister said, that the Member States interact regularly and ensure thereby, that their interests are fully protected at the forthcoming Third WTO Ministerial Conference.

Tofail Ahmed, MP, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Bangladesh who was unanimously elected Chairman for the Meeting, drew urgent attention to the fact that global liberalisation poses not only challenges but also opportunities. While exposing the region to intense international competition, developed countries are attempting to introduce ‘new issues’ which seriously disadvantage the region. The Minister urged the Member States to urgently consider ways and means of coordinating strategies and adopting a unified stand at the WTO negotiations.

In his Statement during the Inaugural Session, the SAARC Secretary-General, Nihal Rodrigo, drew attention to the twin objectives before SAARC today; first, to promote and invigorate the process of economic cooperation within the region and second, to work towards coordination and convergence in positions and strategies to respond to the compulsions emanating from the global economic environment. The Secretary General stressed that a collective response that is informed, well-coordinated and effectively promoted will be much more than the sum of our separate individual national efforts.

The Commerce Ministers, during their two day deliberations, approved a series of initiatives which would play an important role in facilitating intra-SAARC trade as also enabling the region to forge common positions during multilateral negotiations. Notable among the decisions is an agreement to intensify consultations and identify specific issues that are likely to be raised under the aegis of the WTO. The Ministers also gave clear guidelines and time schedules for the Fourth Round of Trade Negotiations under SAPTA in order to ensure that the interest of all members including the LDCs would be taken into account.

The Ministers also emphasized the important role that Industry plays in accelerating the process of regional economic cooperation and boosting intra-regional trade. In this context, the Ministers noted with appreciation the role played by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry not only in increasing public awareness through the important and timely workshops and studies that they have been commissioning but also, through the interactive sessions between Government and Industry.

PROCESS OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION STRENGTHENED

The tenth meeting of Commerce Secretaries (Committee on Economic Cooperation) was held in Dhaka on 31st January and 1st February and was inaugurated by Tofail Ahmed, M.P., Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of Bangladesh. The Minister drew attention to the role regional economic cooperation can play in the amelioration of poverty.

SAARC Secretary-General, Nihal Rodrigo drew specific attention to the fact that South Asia needed also to urgently consider how best it should deal with the challenges posed to the region by its international economic environment, especially in respect of the many issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights, and international monetary, financial and investment matters, that are being debated at the multilateral level, including at WTO.

The meeting agreed on a number of important issues which would positively impact on regional economic cooperation. In the area of multi-lateral negotiations, the Meeting recognised the need to intensify consultations among Member States so as to coordinate positions. A series of meetings have accordingly been proposed, first at the level of Commerce Secretaries to be followed up with Ministerial-level consultations on a variety of subjects such as the forth-coming WTO Ministerial Meeting, issues pertaining to Intellectual Property Rights, Food Safety and Hygiene, Standards, Multilateral Agreement on Investments, etc.

On the subject of boosting intra-regional trade, the meeting set deadlines for the commencement and conclusion of the Fourth Round of Trade Negotiations under SAPTA and agreed further that the negotiations would preferably be on sectoral, chapter wise or on across-the-board basis. The special interests and concerns of the Least Developed Countries would be fully protected and ensured as mandated under the SAPTA Agreement. Furthermore, the downward revision of the domestic content requirement of the SAPTA Rules of Origin was approved.

A schedule of meetings has been agreed to facilitate putting into place a series of enabling mechanisms which would give substantive fillip to the process of regional economic cooperation and integration.

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON PREVENTION OF DRUG TRAFFICKING AND DRUG ABUSE MEETS

The thirteenth meeting of the Technical Committee met in Malé from 27-29 January. Delegates from all Member Countries participated and the Secretariat was represented by Director, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed.

Reviewing the implementation of activities since its last meeting, the Committee noted the recommendations made by the two workshops held on Money Laundering and on Relapse Prevention in Islamabad and New Delhi, respectively. The Committee endorsed the recommendations for consideration by the higher SAARC bodies and noted that some legal provision covering Money Laundering was already available in the national legislation of most Member States. While agreeing with the recommendation of the workshop on Relapse Prevention that a sub-committee should be established within the existing Technical Committee, it, however, decided that the suggested measures could be for the present addressed by the committee itself as a whole.

During the meeting, the Committee also reviewed progress in enactment of enabling legislation under the SAARC Convention on Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and progress in the implementation of networking arrangements among existing South Asian Institutions in Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation.

The Committee recommended for inclusion in the calendar of activities for the year 1999 (a) workshop on precursor chemical for law enforcement officers and industry, and (b) workshop on legislation for money laundering with emphasis on Narcotics Drugs. Both workshops would be hosted by India. Pakistan and Nepal offered to host two activities under the SAARC-Japan Special Fund.

NEXT ISSUE OF SPECTRUM

The first issue of Spectrum magazine for this year will be out in March. As part of our journey through the region, we take you to Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal. Among others, you may like to read on Geo-information technology for sustainable development; Energy usage environment and development; and Environmental protection in South Asia.

If you wish to receive a copy of next issue and are not already in the mailing list for Spectrum, write to us.

VICE-CHANCELLORS OF OPEN UNIVERSITIES GATHER IN COLOMBO

In accordance with decisions of the Tenth SAARC Summit the first Meeting of the SAARC Forum of Vice-Chancellors of the Open Universities was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 25-28 January. The Vice-Chancellors of the SAARC Open Universities in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the meeting. Although Open Universities do not exist at present in Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal, representatives of higher educational authorities from these countries also participated in the meeting. Director, Suresh Pradhan, represented the SAARC Secretariat.

The Forum of Vice-Chancellors of the SAARC Open Universities was inaugurated by the Sri Lankan Minister of Education and Higher Education, Richard Pathirana. He expressed the hope that the formation of the Forum would be a significant development in promoting economic, social and cultural development in the South Asian Region. He also expressed the hope that these efforts would help the Open Universities in the region to contribute to human resource development through cooperation and sharing of knowledge and resources.

Welcoming the delegates and distinguished guests, Prof. N.R. Arthanayake, the Vice-Chancellor of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) hoped that the Forum will lay the foundation for a strong participation in the arena of Open Learning and Distance Education in the region.

Four Working Groups were formed by the Forum on areas such as Joint Development of Programmes, Sharing of Resources, Information Technology in Delivering Programmes and Accreditation and Validation. The recommendations of the Working Groups were adopted by the Forum for consideration by the SAARC higher bodies.

During the course of the Meeting, the participants deliberated in depth the operational modalities of the Forum including its objectives and membership. A Task Force, comprising the four Vice-Chancellors of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and delegates from Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal, was formed which recommended, inter alia, that the organization be designated as the SAARC Consortium of Open and Distance Learning (SACODiL). The Task Force which will henceforth be called a Steering Committee will hold its next meeting in Kathmandu in May, 1999 to finalize the operational modalities of the SACODiL.

It may be recalled that the Heads of State or Government during the Ninth SAARC Summit in Male in 1997 directed that the possibility of creating a Consortium of SAARC Open Universities be explored keeping in mind the resource, manpower and infrastructural constraints to the promotion of Vocational and Higher Education in the region. During the Colombo Summit in July, 1998, the Leaders decided to establish a SAARC Forum of Vice-Chancellors of Open Universities to build on the substantial expertise already existing in the Region in the field of open education.

FORTHCOMING ACTIVITIES ON TRADE AND ECONOMIC AREAS

* Network of Researchers on Global, Financial and Economic Issues, Sri Lanka – February.

* Meeting of Experts on Intellectual Property Rights, India – March

* First meeting of Commerce Secretaries on WTO matters, India – April/May

* Second Meeting on Promotion and Protection of Investments and setting-up of a SAARC Arbitration Council, India – June.

* First Meeting of the Standing Group on Standards, Quality Control, Measurement and Hazardous Products, India – June.

* First Meeting of Fourth Round of Trade Negotiations under SAPTA, Nepal – July.

* First Meeting of Committee of Experts on SAFTA, Nepal – July

* Second and Final Meeting of Fourth Round of Trade Negotiations under SAPTA, Nepal – August

* Second Meeting of Committee of Experts on SAFTA, Nepal – August.

* First meeting on Avoidance of Double Taxation, Pakistan – August.

COMING EVENTS

Following is the tentative list of activities scheduled for February, 1999

1-6   Training Programme for Highway Engineers in Pavement Design, Pakistan (under the SAARC-Japan Special Fund).

5-6   Sixth Meeting of the Governing Board of the SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), India.

17-18 First Meeting of the Governing Board of the SAARC Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC), Pakistan

24-26 Sixteenth Meeting of the Technical Committee on Science and Technology, India.

SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ROUND OF MEETINGS

The new Secretary-General of SAARC, Nihal Rodrigo from Sri Lanka, assumed office on 1st January 1999. Soon after taking over, the Secretary-General visited Brussels for discussions with the European Commission on modalities for cooperation between SAARC and EU. It may be recalled that the SAARC Council of Ministers during their informal meeting in New York had met with the EU Troika to discuss SAARC-EU cooperation. The Secretary-General’s visit to Brussels was to follow-up on these discussions with a view to identifying modalities for cooperation between the two organisations in the agreed areas.

During the month of January, the Secretary-General also called on the Foreign Secretary of Nepal, Murari Raj Sharma at the latters’ office and held discussions on SAARC related issues.

Some of the dignitaries who called on the Secretary-General during the month under review included, the American Ambassador to Nepal, Ralph Frank; the British Ambassador, L.B. Smith; Russian Ambassador, Vladimir Ivanov; and Swiss Ambassador, Guy Ducrey.

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