India calls for institutional reforms within SAARC

In his keynote address before at SAARC Foreign Minister’s Meeting held in Maldives, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid on Thursday called for institutional reforms within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). “The comprehensive study on SAARC by the SAARC Secretariat and the deliberations serve to underline the importance of taking a holistic view towards institutional reform,” he said, and stressed meantime that SAARC needs to clarify its thinking on the nature and the direction of its relationships with partner States who have Observer status. “Some of the Observer States have done commendable work with our Association, but it is important that we define a clear set of policies and objectives for these relationships and their future direction, before we move further,” Khurshid stated in his address relayed by PTI today . SAARC is an economic and geopolitical cooperation among eight member nations that are primarily located in South Asia continent. Australia, China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Mauritius, Myanmar and the US are the nine observer states to the SAARC. “The SAARC has traversed a significant distance since it came into being in 1985. There is little doubt about its achievements. While the overall direction of our progress is positive, we need to move faster and to add momentum to our cooperation within the SAARC framework,” said Khurshid. The minister highlighted the need for regional connectivity so that SAARC members reap economic benefits. “Our maritime, land and air connectivity is still very tenuous and we must focus on building common infrastructure which transcends our boundaries and interconnects our region,” Khurshid said. “We must be more imaginative in this sector and think of different ways of connecting our countries, whether through road, rail, and sea or by air or an integrated multi-modal approach for the subcontinent. Enhancing connectivity would help raise all our rates of economic growth and accelerate our common development,” he said.