17th SAARC Summit: ‘Building Bridges’ core theme

17th SAARC Summit: ‘Building Bridges’ core theme

Hameed Shaheen

ISLAMABAD: ‘Building Bridges’ will be the core theme for the two-day 8-nation 17th SAARC Summit beginning in the picturesque Atoll Addu in Maldives next month on November 10-11, 2011. The theme, preferred by the Republic of Maldives, represents a range of new diplomatic initiatives covering geo-physical regional connectivity to conscious nursing of political dialogue among the SAARC community to narrow down differences.

This will be the third-time SAARC Summit being hosted by the Maldives government: the previous ones held in 1990 and 1997 respectively.

SAARC community consists of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The 16th Summit was held in April 2010 in Bhutan with Climate Change as its central subject of deliberations.

Maldives is trying to bridge political differences among the member countries of the SAARC forum. Pakistan has already informally proposed establishment of SAARC police to track down inter-regional crimes. For academic plus cultural linkage a SAARC university has also gone operational in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani who is expected represent Pakistan at the 17th SAARC summit on November 10 and 11, 2011, will have second occasion of meeting with his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh there. Premier Gilani has said at the weekend that he would also talk to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about Pakistan-Tajikistan road link project on the SAARC occasion. This link will be part of New Silk Road mega project connecting South Asian region with Europe and beyond having commercial centers all along the route.

An earlier SAARC event at Thimpu/Bhutan in April 2010 was instrumental in resumption of Pakistan-India dialogue process which had broken off following 26/11 Mumbai events. On that occasion Prime Minister Gilani’s meeting with his Indian counterpart helped open up years long choked channels for diplomatic dialogue between Islamabad and Delhi.