Madam Chair,
Your Majesty,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At age twenty, SAARC has returned to its birthplace -- to this historic
city of Dhaka. On the auspicious occasion, I bring to this august gathering
and to the people of Bangladesh the warm greetings and good wishes of
His Majesty the King Jigme Singye Wangchuck.
Even as I rejoice in commemorating this significant event, grateful
for the warm reception and gracious hospitality of the people of Bangladesh,
it is with sadness that I recall the calamity of the October 8 earthquake.
And, my heart is heavy with grief, thinking of so many innocent lives,
taken so violently, by the recent terrorist attacks in India. To all
our sisters and brothers whose lives were so suddenly altered, I convey
the profound sympathy of the people of Bhutan. We pray that the departed
rest in peace, and those left behind will be able to rebuild their shattered
lives with courage, perseverance and hope for a better future.
These violent events, natural or man-made, have once again reminded
us that we humans are equally vulnerable, and such disasters know no
borders. Maximum preparedness against nature's fury or terrorists' ambition
is possible only by people joining hands -- holistically across all
technical professions, and collectively across nations. We owe to all
who suffered that we act, and act differently. I do not call for any
ordinary SAARC collaboration. I call for a high-performance teamwork
among us with an acute sense of urgency. Bhutan is ready and determined
to do its part.
Madam Chair,
On the occasion of SAARC's homecoming, I take an inspiration from the
earthquake victims' indomitable will, to cast my thoughts on the future
of our region.
The Founding Father of SAARC -- among whom Bhutan is proud to count
His Majesty the King -- embraced a dream. A dream of what they wanted
for South Asia 's future generations. A dream of what we must be for
our own good. A dream of what we can be, if we put our hearts and minds
into concerted action on the ground.
Imagine that dream.
Imagine South Asia, where nations trust and have fun working with each
other, making the whole far greater than the sum of its parts.
Imagine South Asia, where all women and men enjoy unity in diversity,
taking pride in their shared heritage, and valuing all sentient beings
that enrich their living environment.
Imagine South Asia, where its people live in peace, knowing that it
is the fruit of their own vibrant participation in a just political
process and good governance.
Imagine South Asia, where its citizens live with dignity, free from
the shackles of poverty.
Bhutan wants to be part of this dream. And, we believe that happiness
is its ultimate outcome. We imagine South Asia, therefore, where one-fifth
of humanity is secure in the knowledge that everyone has an equal opportunity
to pursue individual happiness.
Madam Chair,
You would surely agree that happiness is a shared desire of every human
being. It is possibly the ultimate thing we want, while all other things
are wanted only as means to its increase. One lesson from the world
history should therefore not surprise us: unhappy people make an unstable
nation.
In Bhutan, His Majesty the King has been the fountainhead of the vision,
values and policies guiding the nation's social, economic and political
transformation for well over three decades. From the very outset, happiness
of the people has been the singular and explicit policy outcome sought.
Everything else -- however important, including greater income and wealth
-- has been a means to enable this end.
Enunciated by His Majesty as "Gross National Happiness,"
this policy philosophy places happiness of sovereign people at the heart
of our national security strategy. Five-year development plans -- along
with the planning process, associated policies, implementation and outcome
evaluation -- strive to balance the people's satisfaction of material
and non-material needs, and their emotional and spiritual growth.
Gross National Happiness has also meant that future course of the nation
must be the people's own choice. It has driven a gradual but steady
change in Bhutan 's political system, learning as we go over many decades.
This process of change has recently culminated as a draft Constitution
that is to enshrine a constitutional monarch and a two-party parliamentary
democracy. Enshrined also is our conviction that the purpose of government
is to enable the individual citizen's pursuit of happiness.
Madam Chair,
It is in this context that Bhutan remains resolute in its commitment
to SAARC.
In Islamabad, we signed three landmark region frameworks and decided
to tackle poverty at the regional level. The decision speaks for our
collective desire to impart a fresh impetus to regional cooperation.
I commend the Government of Pakistan for the strong leadership as the
Chair, which has reinvigorated the SAARC process. Indeed, I see concerted
actions for implementing South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA). I see
intensified dialogue, with a number of high-level meetings and even
two unprecedented emergency ones at the ministerial level. I see the
Integrated Programme of Action revitalised, with the Technical Committees
and the Working Groups recording progress in their work.
As Bangladesh assumes the Chair, I am confident that this momentum
will continue to gain its pace. I assure you, Madam Chair, of Bhutan
's fullest cooperation.
Madam Chair,
The signing of the SAFTA Agreement is a bright milestone in the history
of SAARC. The purpose of its trade liberalisation programme is to bring
tangible benefits to the people of our region. Backed by requisite will
and pursued in earnest, SAFTA will inject new energies into our respective
national economy, catalyze the region's economic synergies, and make
a salutary impact on the region's political and social landscape. It
is my hope that SAFTA's implementation will go a long way in realising
the future envisioned by our Founding Fathers.
Madam Chair,
As we look forward to a freer movement of goods, services and people
across our borders, transnational issues such as terrorism, HIV/AIDS
and other infectious diseases take on an even greater urgency for action.
Simply put, they comprise a risk that threatens the collective security
of our region and the hard-won welfare of our peoples. We must give
high priority to manage this risk, together and on a war footing. We
owe it to all fellow South Asians, whose innocent lives were violated
so tragically by mindless weapons or viruses.
Madam Chair,
I am encouraged by the progress in the implementation of the SAARC
Environment Plan of Action. But as declared at the last Summit, we must
expedite the SAARC State of Environment Report, which will bring to
reality a vital component of our environmental cooperation -- a Regional
Environment Treaty. The natural disasters that wrecked havoc have taught
us to respect nature and to mange our environment together as our collective
asset. They highlighted the need for a comprehensive framework of cooperation
in early warning, preparedness and management of natural disasters.
To repeat, we owe it to all the lives shattered by such disasters, in
this year's earthquake, last year's Tsunami, and countless others in
our shared history.
Madam Chair,
In Islamabad, we took a historic decision to tackle poverty at the
regional level. Indeed, we that accountable leaders cannot tolerate
the fact that, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "there are people
in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the
form of bread." Without such basic human security as food, healthcare
and education, our people cannot gain hope even to seek happiness.
As the 12 th Summit mandated, the Independent South Asian Commission
on Poverty Alleviation has submitted the SAARC Development Goals in
the areas of poverty alleviation, health, education and environment.
We adopted the plan of Action on Poverty Alleviation. We have access
to the generous funds pledged by India during the last Summit.
Keeping in mind the centrality of the people, the need of the hour
is action urgent and concerted action to translate our decision into
viable regional projects.
Madam Chair,
SAARC has evolved through various phases. It has withstood the vicissitude
of time and recorded progress in many areas. Needless to say, the most
important achievement of SAARC is the culture of cooperation it fostered
in our region. As SAARC enters its third decade, it is an opportune
time to consolidate our gains and make it more relevant for the common
man.
Our resources are limit and ground realities hard. We need to sharpen
our focus on clear priority, and refrain from spreading ourselves too
thinly over a large number of activities. The need of the hour, therefore,
is to concentrate on tangible projects that have a clearly regional
bearing. We must appreciate that some issues are best left to national
governments. This is a strategic choice that will enable SAARC to emerge
as a viable and effective regional enterprise in the new millennium.
The dream of our Founding Fathers can only be realised with a commensurate
strengthening of the institution of SAARC. We have in place a well-structured
decision making process. But, there remains much to be desired in translating
our decisions to tangible action on the ground. Indeed, a number of
mechanisms have already been agreed to this end. Yet, I dare say we
fall short in following through.
To the same end, we must also act holistically to strengthen the SAARC
process itself, by building capacities for coordination and a culture
of teamwork among the Secretariat, National and Sectoral Focal Points.
It particular, SAARC Centres of Excellence must be encouraged to perform
to their potential.
Madam Chair,
I wish to place on record my country's deep appreciation for the valuable
service rendered to SAARC by Mr. QAMA Rahim, the former Secretary General.
I commend him, in particular, for his tireless efforts to build SAARC
institutions. We wish him well as we bid him a fond farewell.
Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji has assumed charge of the Secretariat as the
first Secretary General of SAARC from Bhutan. I commend him for the
various initiatives he has already undertaken in maintaining the momentum
in the SAARC process. I have every confidence that we will all gain
equally from his wisdom and experience.
Madam Chair,
In commemorating twenty years of SAARC, it is fitting that we pay tribute
to the memory of your late husband, President Ziaur Rahman, whose vision
and initiative led to the formation of our Association. By conferring
the "SAARC Award 2004" on him, we reaffirm our faith in the
destiny of a vibrant, prosperous and unit South Asia.
Fellow South Asians, you may count on Bhutan 's earnest engagement
as we pursue together the noble dream of our Founding Fathers, enshrined
in the Charter of our Association. It is time to renew our joint commitment
for action, and act, and act differently.
We the Leaders must become the change we want to see. It is time to
think differently about what we do. Let it not be forgot, that our hard
work is the means to a singular end -- happiness of our people. Peace
and prosperity can be the norm, not exceptions, for this great region
we call South Asia, populated by citizens who are happy and proud to
call it their home.
Imagine such a South Asia. And, imagine the world, with such a region
in it!
Thank you, Tashi Delek!
