SAARC NEWSLETTER, VOL.X, NOS.5&6 MAY-JUNE 1999
NEWS FROM THE SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION
GOVERNING BOARD OF SADF MEETS IN BHUTAN

THE FOURTH MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BOARD OF THE SOUTH ASIAN DEVELOPMENT FUND (SADF) was held in Thimphu on 18-19 May. All members of the Board attended with the exception of Pakistan. Director Thinley Dorji represented the SAARC Secretariat.

While inaugurating the meeting Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, Minister for Finance of Bhutan emphasized the imperative for strengthening regional cooperation. In this context, he felt that SADF has an important role to play. He said that the SADF should harness the resources of the region for the benefit of the people. There is need for a consensus on the size of the initial capital with which the Fund could start financing of regional projects.

The Karma Rangdol, Managing Director, BDFC and G.P. Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and the Chairman, SADF also addressed the meeting.

The SADF has three windows: Window I for Identification and Development of Projects; Window II for Institutional and Human Resource Development Projects; and Window III for Social and Infrastructural Development Projects.

The meeting recommended the establishment of a core capital base of US$ 100 million to be contributed by member governments in the same proportions as for Window I to finance activities under SADF. The SADF Secretariat will prepare a background note, detailing inter alia, the social and economic infrastructure projects under Window III to be circulated to the members for their comments. The Governing Board will then meet in Mumbai during August/September 1999 after which concrete proposals could be submitted to the Standing Committee which is scheduled to meet in Kathmandu in November 1999.

The meeting also recommended that the interest earned on funds in Window I be used for selectively financing training programmes/activities in the areas of project appraisal, monitoring and financial management and IT. The SADF Secretariat will finalise the operational modalities after incorporating views of all members. These will be considered/approved by the Mumbai meeting in August/September 1999.

Reiterating the need for a Permanent Secretariat, the Board decided that the Technical Committee set up to examine on Accounting Manual for SADF also work out a proposal for the Secretariat alongwith the financial implications. This could be submitted to the Standing Committee for consideration.

THE PLAN OF ACTION ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS
THE SIXTH MEETING OF SAARC TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS, which covers telecommunications and postal services was held in Islamabad on 4-5 May under the Chairmanship of Muhammad Shafi, Director General (International Communication), Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd and leader of the delegation from Pakistan. The meeting was attended by all the Member States. The SAARC Secretariat was represented by Director, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed.

Member States presented country papers, highlighting developments and the present status in the telecommunications and postal sectors in their respective countries. While reviewing progress on earlier decisions pertaining to transit facilities (telecommunications), the Committee noted that a study team would be visiting member countries by the end of the year to finalise its work on the subject. Regarding postal transit facilities, Pakistan will be circulating a questionnaire to other member countries.

The Committee also deliberated in-depth on the implementation of the SAARC Plan of Action on Telecommunications that was adopted by the Communication Ministers in Colombo in May last year. The Ministers, had recommended reduction of telecom tariffs in the SAARC region and also called on Member States to offer special rates for transiting regional traffic. The Committee decided to constitute a Focus Group to study the subject in detail. The Group is expected to meet during the second half of this year. The Committee also noted the progress made by member countries in digitalising inter-country links and urged Member States to meet the preferred target of December 1999 to complete this task. It also discussed ways and means of improving R&D activities in the field of telecommunications and decided to compile a Regional Directory of names of training institutions, course outlines etc. in the region.

During the meeting, the Committee formulated its calendar of activities for 1999 which includes: The Sixteenth Letter-Writing Competition to be coordinated by Bangladesh; The Workshop on Induction of Technology in Postal Services – India. Two activities were also identified under SAARC-Japan Special Fund that include: Seminar on Challenges Posed by some provisions of WTO and Decisions of some Developed Countries on Developing Countries - Particularly on their Telecommunication Revenue and how to Combat them – Pakistan; and a Seminar on Electronic Commerce – Nepal.

THE THIRD WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE is scheduled to be held in Seattle later this year. There is genuine apprehension among developing countries that the issues and negotiations could disadvantage them further. The apprehensions are accentuated in the case of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) who feel that financial and other factors are preventing them from participating fully in WTO negotiations as a result of which, their interests are not being effectively projected or protected. Four of the SAARC Member States are LDCs, two of whom (Nepal and Bhutan) are in the process of accession to WTO.

At the Tenth Summit in Colombo, the Heads of State or Government recognised the need to pool resources and speak with one voice to ensure that the concerns of the region are heeded. In pursuance of this objective, the Commerce Ministers at their Third Meeting in Dhaka (February 2-3, 1999) agreed that consultations among Commerce Secretaries was imperative to identify issues of mutual concern and to coordinate policies well in advance of the Seattle Meeting.

The government of India hosted the First Consultative Meeting of SAARC Commerce Secretaries on WTO Matters (10-12 May, 1999). Inaugurating the Meeting, the Commerce Minister of India emphasised that the SAARC region in its negotiating mandate for the future, must stipulate that the Agreements reached should include specific obligations, concessions or measures for enhancing market access opportunities for developing countries in developed country markets. There should accordingly be a holistic and integrated assessment of the real contribution made by the Uruguay Round Agreements towards enhancing market access opportunities of developing and least developed countries.

The meeting considered a number of issues including the problems being faced by LDCs in the Multilateral Trading System; Special and Differential Treatment and Market Access Issues for Developing and Least Developed Countries in WTO; Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Dispute Settlement Issues in WTO and Unilateral Action by Member States; General Agreement on Trade in Services; Global Electronic Commerce; Agreement on Textiles and Clothing; and the Agreement on Agriculture. After comprehensive discussions Member States agreed to coordinate positions on the issues. On the subject of "new issues" which some WTO Members propose to add to the WTO Agenda, the SAARC Commerce Secretaries were firmly of the view that the introduction of "new issues" was premature. Priority should be given to the full and proper implementation of existing agreements particularly with reference to their impact on developing and least developed countries, rather than to expanding the Agenda.

An interactive session was also organized during the meeting with representatives of industry who made a presentation to the Commerce Secretaries of the likely implications of the Third WTO Ministerial Conference.

The next Meeting of Commerce Secretaries on WTO issues would be held in Malé in August this year and would be immediately followed by a meeting of the SAARC Commerce Ministers. REGIONAL SEMINAR ON WTO

A REGIONAL SEMINAR ON WTO for the SAARC countries was organised in Male’ on 16-18 May 1999 by WTO Geneva. The seminar was attended by representatives from all Member States as well as the SAARC Secretariat.

Inaugurating the WTO seminar which provided a broad over view of the multilateral trading system and the manner in which WTO works, the Minister of Trade Industries of Maldives, Abdulla Yameen expressed the view that many of the developed countries have not lived up to their promises of implementing the spirit behind the undertaking given during the Uruguay Round Negotiations, especially where these are important for developing countries. He was also apprehensive of the WTO’s proposal to introduce "new issues" in the agenda, and emphasised that accords agreed to at the Uruguay Round need to be fully implemented in the first instance, before a fresh round with "new issues" is launched.

WTO officials, Claude Mercier and Jean Marc Fortin acted as resource persons at the Seminar.
A similar Seminar on Technical Barriers to Trade is likely to be organised shortly with the assistance of WTO.

SAARC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FORUM TO BE SETUP
The Commerce Secretaries of SAARC Member States, who met in New Delhi at their First Consultative Meeting on WTO Matters (10-12 May, 1999) agreed to set up a Forum on Intellectual Property Rights as also a SAARC Information Network on Intellectual Property (SAIPNet). The Commerce Secretaries recognised the urgent imperative of protecting the region’s rich diversity, cultural heritage and intellectual property through the enactment of appropriate legislation.

NEXT ISSUE OF SPECTRUM
March issue of Spectrum - magazine of the SAARC Secretariat - has been well received by readers. Those who wish to read it on the Net, may retrieve it from the SAARC Secretariat website at [www.south-asia.com/saarc].

Readers are welcome to contribute for the forthcoming issue of Spectrum which is expected to be out in August/September. Articles mainly on developmental themes in South Asia are entertained.

Contributors should confirm the theme of their articles in advance to the SAARC Secretariat.

COMING EVENTS
Following is the tentative list of activities scheduled for June 1999:

17-18 Meeting of Legal Experts to review progress on the implementation of the SAARC Regional Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism and to formulate guidelines for the Meeting of the Liaison Officers, Sri Lanka.

29-30 Standing Group on Standards, Quality Control, Measurement and Hazardous Products, India.

A new publication of the SAARC Secretariat is in printing process and is expected to be out during July. The publication will cover reports and outcomes such as Joint Communiqué/Plans of Action etc. of the SAARC Ministerial Meetings/Conferences held from the inception of the Association till end 1998.

COMPUTERS TO THE SAARC SECRETARIAT
In pursuance of the offer made by the Commerce Minister of Pakistan during the Commerce Ministers Meeting in Dhaka last year, the Government of Pakistan presented two state-of-the-art Computers along with two printers to the Secretariat in May. The presentations were made by the Pakistani Ambassador in Nepal, Kamran Niaz on behalf of the Government of Pakistan and were received by the Secretary-General, Nihal Rodrigo at a ceremony held at the SAARC Secretariat on the occasion.