The Fourth Meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Interior / Home preceded by the Fourth Meeting of the SAARC Secretaries of Interior / Home and the Fourth Meeting of the SAARC Immigration Authorities were concluded in Thimphu from 21 – 23 July 2011 with participation from all SAARC Member States.

The Fourth Meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Interior / Home was attended by the Interior / Home Ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives and Pakistan.

The inaugural address at the Ministerial Meeting was delivered by Hon’able Chief Guest, H.E. Lyonchchen Jigmi Y. Thinley, Hone’able Prime Minister of Bhutan and Chair of SAARC. His Excellency stated that “preventing terrorism was about preserving our common values such as democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Therefore, political resilience in being committed to a future of development, security and well-being for our partnership is a critical factor for regional peace and stability.”

H.E. Uz. Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, Secretary-General of SAARC, while addressing the inaugural session stated “that scourge of terrorism has severely affected our region, causing extensive loss of human life, and colossal damage to and destruction of property and it has also threatened peace, harmony and good neighbourly relations, adversely impinging upon the prospects of regional cooperation among one another.” She further emphasized that the question of maritime security is of all the more relevance to our countries given SAARC’s objective of promoting intra-regional connectivity through all modes of transport, including through sea connectivity. She mentioned that the Indian Ocean Cargo and Passenger Ferry Service/Network involving initially India, Maldives and Sri Lanka, is hoped to be launched by the end of this year.

The steps taken by SAARC Member States in the implementation of the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and its Additional Protocol, the SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution and the SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangement for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia were discussed at the Meeting.

The Ministers also considered and recommended the Reports of the Fourth Meeting of SAARC Immigration Authorities (Thimphu, 21 July 2011) and the Report of the Fourth Meeting of SAARC Secretaries of Interior / Home (Thimphu, 22 July 2011). Further the Ministerial Meeting considered and made relevant recommendations and approved the Reports of the Fourth Meetings of the SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) and the Ninth SAARC Police Conference on Cooperation in Police Matters, which were all held in Colombo, from 4 – 5 April 2011.

For the first time in the history of SAARC, matters related to Maritime Security and Piracy were taken up for discussion among the Ministers and due recommendations were made on the steps to be taken by Member States, which are to be discussed in the forthcoming Meetings of Ministers of Interior / Home and related Meetings.  

At this Meeting the Maldives offered to host the Fifth Meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Interior / Home preceded by the Fifth Meeting of the SAARC Secretaries of Interior/Home and the Fifth Meeting of SAARC Immigration Authorities in 2012.   India is expected to host the Fifth Meetings of the SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) and the Tenth SAARC Police Conference on Cooperation in Police Matters in June 2012.

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The Fifteenth Meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation comprising Commerce Secretaries of SAARC Member States was held in the Maldives on 15-16 July 2012 at the invitation of the Government of Maldives. In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Secretary General of SAARC emphasised the importance of the mandate of this high level body which has the mandate to monitor the progress in the trade and economic cooperation and to suggest new ideas for further deepening this cooperation. H.E. Mr. Ahmed Mohamed, Hon’ble Minister of Economic Development, Government of Maldives welcomed the delegates to the Maldives and reiterated the importance of further accelerating the pace of regional economic cooperation and reaffirmed the commitment of the Maldives to the speedier enhancement of economic cooperation under SAARC for regional economic integration.

The Meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr. Yusuf Riza, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development, Government of Maldives. It reviewed the progress in the implementation of its earlier recommendations with regard to South Asian Free Trade Area, reduction in the Sensitive Lists, intra-SAARC trade flows under SAFTA, SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services, harmonisation of standards, establishment of South Asian Regional Standards Organisation, establishment of SAARC Arbitration Council, harmonisation of customs procedures and documentation, cooperation in the fields of statistics, avoidance of double taxation, SAARC Trade Fairs etc. It emphasised the early finalisation of the text of the Draft SAARC Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment. It also made recommendations for developing a road map for a long term vision of regional economic integration in SAARC and for its movement towards South Asian Economic Union. A representative of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry made a presentation giving the perspective of private sector for promotion of intra-SAARC trade and economic cooperation.

The Meeting recognised delays in customs clearance procedures and decided that henceforth electronic copies of specimen signatures and seals of officials authorised to sign SAFTA Certificates of Origin may also be accepted in addition to sending the original copies of such documents in order to save time and to ensure that the consignments are not held up at the customs border points. It also agreed with the proposal of the delegation of Maldives that the scope of the SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters may be expanded for the benefit of all concerned in the region.

Nepal offered to host the Sixteenth Meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation would be held in Nepal in 2013, the exact dates for which would be decided once the dates for the Eighteenth SAARC Summit are announced.

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The Fifth Meeting of the SAARC Technical Committee on Women, Youth and Children was held in Kabul from 16-17 July 2011. The Meeting was attended by all the SAARC Member States. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Prof. Sayeda Mojgan Mostafavi, Technical and Policy Deputy Minister of Ministry of Women’s Affairs in her capacity as Leader of the Delegation of Afghanistan and current Chair of the Technical Committee.

The Meeting while following up on its previous decisions, made recommendations for the expeditious implementation of the project proposal which were identified during the previous sessions of the Meeting. To this end, the Meeting agreed to identify Focal Points in each Member State.

To further enhance SAARC’s cooperation with UN Women under the Memorandum of Understanding, the Meeting endorsed SAARC Gender Equality and Empowerment Programme.

The Meeting finalized the In-depth Assessment Report of the implementation of the SAARC Decade of the Rights of Child (2001-2010) and recommended the Secretariat to launch the Assessment Report during the Seventeenth SAARC Summit (Maldives, November 2011).

The Meeting also recommended course of action for revival of SAARC Youth Volunteers’ Programme and for developing SAARC Youth Action Plan

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During the visit, the Secretary-General paid a courtesy call on Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on 19 June 2012.  During the call-on, the Secretary-General apprised the Prime Minister of the current state of regional cooperation under the auspices of SAARC, with a particular reference to the recommendations of the Seventeenth SAARC Summit and their follow-up. The Prime Minister said Bangladesh attached top priority to regional cooperation in South Asia and considered SAARC as a catalyst for regional cooperation aimed at promoting the welfare of the peoples in the region. 

The Secretary-General also called on Her Excellency Dr. Dipu Moni, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh on 19 June 2012. He thanked the Minister for endorsing his nomination as the eleventh Secretary-General of SAARC. He also briefed the Minister on the ongoing activities of the Association. 

Earlier on 19 June 2012, the Secretary-General called on Ambassador Mustafa Kamal, Acting Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. The Acting Foreign Secretary and the Secretary-General discussed matters pertaining to intra-regional trade and connectivity. They also discussed the imperative to strengthen the SAARC Secretariat.

While in Dhaka, the Secretary-General also visited the SAARC Meteorological Research Centre and SAARC Agriculture Centre. The Secretary-General and the Directors of the two Centres held a wide range of discussions pertaining to their scope of work.

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