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SAARC summit begins in Colombo

The tenth South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation summit opened in Colombo today with South Asian leaders welcoming the voluntary moratoria on further nuclear testing by India and Pakistan, and calling on New Delhi and Islamabad to resolve their differences through bilateral talks.

The SAARC leaders also vowed to accelerate the economic progress of the region by declaring their commitment to achieving the goal of a South Asian Free Trade Area.

In her inaugural address at the summit, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga asked India and Pakistan to settle their differences through frank bilateral talks. She, however, stated that the concerns of other South Asian states over the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan could not be ignored even as she called for global nuclear disarmament.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, in her address, hoped the meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharief would contribute to the resumption of a ''constructive dialogue'' between the two countries.

She said she had recently visited New Delhi and Islamabad and was told by the two prime ministers of their respective government's decision to declare a voluntary moratorium on further nuclear tests.

Both Vajpayee and Sharief had also assured her that they looked forward to peaceful bilateral negotiations to iron out differences between the two nations, she said.

Bhutan Foreign Minister Jigmey Thinley, who is the chairman of the new council of ministers in the tiny Himalayan nation, backed the nuclear tests though, saying every country had the right to protect its national interests and uphold its dignity.

He said the SAARC leaders must take full advantage of the SAARC meetings to hold bilateral meetings to resolve outstanding issues. Thinley said the SAARC leaders should have the political will to create an atmosphere in which they could fight the problems of the people of the region.

Earlier, the Sri Lankan president took over the SAARC chairmanship from the Maldives President M A Gayoom.

Vajpayee, in his address described as ''misplaced'' apprehensions that the recent nuclear tests by India and Pakistan could affect SAARC. He said India continued to seek good relations with all its neighbours and to work with them to build on its common elements and shared aspirations for development.

''Differences should be resolved in a rational manner, peacefully and through bilateral negotiations. We have consistently been in favour of a serious sustained dialogue on these lines,'' he said.

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