The South
Asian Centre for Policy Studies
(SACEPS) organised a national
seminar on the “Follow up of the
SAARC Summit Decisions
concerning SAFTA and Energy
Cooperation and The
Launching of the South Asia
Development and Cooperation
Report”. The seminar was
held in collaboration with the
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
and the Research and Information
System for the Non-aligned &
Other Developing Countries (RIS),
New Delhi, India on 18 May, 2004
at the BRAC Centre Auditorium,
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The seminar
was divided into three sessions.
In the first session Dr Nagesh
Kumar, Director General of the
RIS, introduced the South Asian
Development and Cooperation
report. Dr Dushni Weerakoon,
Research Fellow, Institute of
Policy Studies, Colombo, gave a
presentation on the Implications
of Building a SAFTA (South Asia
Free Trade Area) in the second
session. In the final session
Professor M P Lama of Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi,
made a presentation on Energy
Cooperation in South Asia.
Speaking as
the chief guest at the inaugural
session, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs, Mr M Morshed
Khan, MP, shared his experience
of the 12th SAARC
Summit held in Islamabad.
Commenting on that he said that
the Summit was a landmark event
as there was a significant
change in the mindset of all its
members. He also said that it
was a key watershed in
strengthening regional
cooperation in economic, social
and other sectors. Mr Reaz
Rahman, Advisor to the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs also spoke at
the session as special guest.
Mr Tofail
Ahmed, former Minister for
Commerce and Industry (GOB) and
the chief guest for the second
session said that since the
experience of implementation of
SAPTA has not been very
encouraging, implementation of
SAFTA will require a lot of
preparation. On Energy
Cooperation in South Asia, the
chief guest for the final
session and the State Minister
for Power, Iqbal Hasan Mahmood
said though SAARC nations are
willing to forge energy
cooperation, there is no
initiative from any government
to go ahead with the plan.
Ambassadors,
government bodies, politicians,
academicians and civil society
activists took part in the
deliberation.
