Kathmandu: The 18th Saarc Summit concluded yesterday in this scenic Nepalese capital with the eight South Asian nations signing a pact on energy cooperation and adoption of the Kathmandu Declaration that called for deeper regional cooperation in core areas of trade, investment, finance, energy, infrastructure and connectivity.
The two-day South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit started on a discordant note Wednesday with Pakistan blocking three proposed agreements. But it ended on a bright and positive note yesterday with the eight countries signing the Saarc Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation and promising to sign two other deals — the Saarc Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic, and the Saarc Regional Agreement on Railways — within three months.
The energy agreement will enable greater cooperation in the power sector. It is expected to improve power availability in the entire Saarc region and would facilitate integrated operation of the regional power grid.
According to the Kathmandu Declaration, the summit decided to accelerate the process of creating free trade in the region and formulation and implementation of projects, programmes and activities of Saarc in a prioritised, focused and result-oriented manner. Similarly, the summit also agreed to launch regional and sub-regional projects in the agreed areas of cooperation, especially in the area of poverty alleviation, infrastructure building, connectivity and energy. IANS
