Remarks by Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Friends from the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased to heartily welcome all of you and share thoughts with such a distinguished audience of eminent personalities and intellectuals. I am particularly happy to note that this very month 25 years ago countries of South Asia committed to set aside their differences and agreed to formally embark on the road to regional co-operation. Promoting the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and improving their quality of life, accelerating economic growth, and promoting and strengthening collective self-reliance in the region are among the objectives of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The emphasis on greater co-operation in the economic realm for expediting development and prosperity is apt as the region has the highest concentration of poverty and hunger in the world and badly needs sizeable investments in terms of capital, technology and services.
Since the early 1990s, SAARC has been taking initiatives for regional economic integration. While the SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) came into force in December 1995, the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) has been in operation since July 2006. However, the actual pace of South Asian economic integration in terms of outcome has been slow and sluggish, in contrast to rapid integration of Asian countries into the global economy over the last two decades. South Asia remains one of the most backward and, in economic terms, least integrated regions in the world. The pace, breadth and depth of regional integration in South Asia pale into insignificance compared to other regional co-operation arrangements, not only among developed regions such as the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), but also in developing regions such as the Association for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) and the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur).
Despite resounding commitments made at the political level to hasten the process of regional economic integration, intra-regional trade still hovers around an insignificant level of 5 percent in South Asia. Tariff, para-tariff and non-tariff barriers, poor intra-regional transport connectivity and transit difficulties, among others, are impeding the prospects of unlocking intra-regional trade and investment potential. Clearly, the imperative to redouble our efforts to overcome these challenges has never been so pressing in the context of the great strides the world economy is making, thanks to globalisation and economic liberalization. One major aspect of successful outcome of various attempts towards economic integration in the region is the rise of India, the biggest member country and pre-dominant economy in the SAARC, as the global economic powerhouse, and the crucial and proactive role it is expected to play in the SAARC process commensurate with its economic status. China is another country that can have a meaningful role in expediting development in South Asia as it has emerged as the world’s second largest economy with very high growth rate and potential to become the biggest economy in a few decades.
Since the majority of the countries in the region fall into the category of least-developed countries (LDCs) as per the United Nations definition, it is imperative that their needs and aspirations should be adequately reflected in the regional economic integration process. Their predicament is qualitatively different from that of their developing counterparts. First, they rely more heavily on regional economic co-operation compared to their developing counterparts to achieve their structural transformation, employment growth and poverty alleviation objectives. Second, besides their poor stage of economic development with narrow resource base, their trade, development and financial needs are radically different. Therefore, SAARC should make every possible endeavour to help these countries integrate themselves into the regional economic mainstream.
Services trade is another area that holds tremendous potential for enhancing regional economic welfare through closer co-operation. As a result of long and protracted negotiations, the SAARC Framework Agreement on Trade in Services was signed in Thimpu early this year. Now the momentum must be continued by speedily finalizing the schedule of commitments, but taking into account the needs and concerns of LDCs within the SAARC region. As the role of the private sector is quite important in promoting growth and prosperity through synergetic co-operation among member countries, apex business organizations like SAARC Chambers of Commerce and Industry and national and bi-national chambers have to play a pivotal role in tapping available resources and promoting an era of greater intra-trade, economic co-operation, increased investments and inter-dependence in the region.
Friends and Delegates,
As the region attempts to extricate itself from the morass of poverty and hunger, the emerging challenge of climate change poses a serious threat to its development endeavours. There is now incontrovertible evidence that human-induced climate change is happening and its impacts are set to get worse if the world continues to move on a business-as-usual path. Though South Asian countries have historically contributed little or nothing to climate change and have per capita emissions of greenhouse gases far less than those of most developed countries, the region is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The existing vulnerability of the poor is further aggravated by climate change.
The majority of the people in the region depend on highly climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and fisheries for their livelihood. Climate change is expected to exacerbate food insecurity and make the achievement of Goal 1 and Goal 3 of the SAARC Development Goals further challenging. Effective operationalization of the SAARC Food Bank is now needed more than ever. Likewise, establishment and implementation of a regional seed bank, the concept of which SAARC has taken up, would be supportive of food security goals in the context of climate change. Adapting to climate change with suitable adaptation and mitigation measures on a collective manner is, thus, one of the critical challenges South Asia faces in the 21st century.
South Asian countries have realized the need for regional cooperation to combat climate change. The SAARC Action Plan on Climate Change and the Thimpu Statement on Climate Change must be implemented in earnest. At the same time, climate change being a global problem requiring global actions, South Asian countries must remain firm in demanding substantial mitigation actions by the industrialized world, which has a historical responsibility for global warming, as well as in demanding adequate funds that are new and additional from the industrialized world for climate change adaptation in developing and least-developed countries. Two instances of greater awareness on the part of the South Asian nations to the catastrophic impacts of climate change took place just prior to the COP 15 that was hosted by Copenhagen city in December 2009.
While the Republic of Maldives composed of a group of tiny islands facing perilous threat of sea rise and consequent inundation, highlighted the impact of climate change by holding the cabinet meeting under the sea, Nepal had the cabinet meeting at Kalapathhar, near the base of Mount Sagarmatha (Everest), releasing an Everest Declaration to draw the attention of the international community to the plight and acute vulnerability of the Himalayas that have served as the lifeline of over a billion people in South Asia. It also re-affirmed Nepal’s total commitment to join the international community to take adequate adaptation and mitigation measures to reverse the long-term impacts of climate change. Nepal is also taking initiative to host the ministerial meeting of the mountainous countries in Kathmandu early next year to discuss the problems faced by these countries on account of severe impacts of climate change.
Distinguished Friends,
In the context of the surge of democracy and participatory regime that is dawning in the region, the civil society has an important role to play in complementing the regional cooperation process under the aegis of SAARC. I am pleased to note that two prominent civil society organizations of the region—South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment and South Asia Centre for Policy Studies—are organizing the 3rd South Asia Economic Summit, bringing together diverse stakeholders to discuss all the pertinent issues of regional economic integration, food security and climate change, and come up with an agreed agenda for the decade 2011-2020. I look forward to seeing fruitful and productive deliberations contributing to the official regional cooperation process.
Excellencies and Friends,
Nepal has undergone defining changes in her political landscape during the last few years particularly after the momentous political change that accompanied the Second People’s Movement of 2006. This unique movement of the people for durable peace, rule of law, multiparty democracy and human rights had got spontaneous support of the international community. The systemic political change that ended a decade-old bloody insurgency brought about a number of positive developments in the form of comprehensive peace accord, promulgation of the Interim Constitution, Constituent Assembly elections and transformation of the Hindu monarchy into a secular and inclusive federal democratic republic. Two major tasks that have to be implemented with over-riding priority are institutionalisation of the peace process and drafting of a suitable constitution so as to sustain peace and stability on a durable basis. As the United Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is to leave Nepal soon after the completion of its mandate, the Government is keen to promote sustained peace through a spirit of dialogue, unity of purpose and consensus on the part of major political forces in the country.
On behalf of the Nepali people, I would like to welcome all the foreign delegates to Nepal and wish you a pleasant stay here. Let me hasten to add that the timing of your visit could not have been more opportune since we are planning to begin celebration of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 in two weeks from now. Nepal is a unique place in terms of both multi-ethnic composition and bio-diversity of flora and fauna, extremity of topography, varied cultural mosaic, and scenic beauty. Pashupatinath and Janakpurdham, two of the foremost places of Hindu pilgrimage, Lumbini, sacred birthplace of Lord Buddha, Mount Sagarmatha (Everest), the highest mountain in the world, are most important but only few of the landmarks that proudly distinguish our country.
We seek to develop tourism in Nepal for the greater welfare of our people and seek to promote international fraternity through greater exchange of people and better connectivity both within and outside the SAARC region. We also need sizeable external investments to develop our eco-tourism and harness water resources that have the potentials to generate huge quantum of power that can act as a catalyst to expedite the pace of socio-economic development in the region. Development of Nepal’s tremendous hydro-power potentials should be given utmost priority for meeting the acute power shortage this country and the region face today.
I wish all the participants fruitful deliberations in the next two days and take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy New Year 2011.
Thank you.