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Eurozone events should not deter South Asian union, says PM
Friday June 29, 2012 10:35:11 PM,
IANS
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Puducherry: The
events in the eurozone should not affect the attempts to build a
South Asian union although the financial and economic crisis
gripping Europe in recent years has important lessons for South
Asian countries, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday at
Unesco Madanjeet Singh Institute for South Asia Regional
Cooperation in Puducherry.
"The events in the eurozone should not cast a shadow over our own
efforts at building unity and eventually a South Asian union. If
anything, we have not been ambitious enough in working towards
building a united South Asia where each of our countries seeks its
economic and social salvation through cooperative development
within the region and by leveraging each other's strengths," Singh
said.
Stating that the financial and economic crisis that has gripped
Europe in the recent years has important lessons and implications
for South Asian nations, Singh said: "The economic and political
rise of post-War Europe was in no small measure due to the vision
of thinkers like George Marshall and Jean Monnet. They believed
that a stable, prosperous and united Europe was good for the
world."
"That is as true today as it was then. I sincerely hope that the
leaders of Europe will find in them the imagination and wisdom to
preserve the European project that has served as a guiding light
to regional cooperation elsewhere in the world, including South
Asia," Singh added.
He said creative and talented men and women should pool their
wisdom and work to remove the mental and other road blocks that
are preventing the people of South Asia from realising their true
destiny.
Stressing India's commitment to the idea of South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Singh said it was a
genuine desire among South Asian leaders to write a new chapter in
the history of this organisation.
Expressing happiness at some of the recent initiatives like the
starting of the South Asia University in New Delhi, Singh said the
SAARC Development Fund has become operational and has started
implementing projects under its social window.
Singh called for closer cooperation among South Asian countries to
critically understand issues relating to food, energy and water
security, disaster management health and education and address
them from a holistic and regional perspective.
Referring to the lagging connectivity, Singh said India is fully
committed to building a better connected SAARC as a strong and
effective instrument for regional cooperation.
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