The leaders of eight South Asian countries Sunday expressed deep concern over the threat posed by terrorism to the peace of the region and decided to face it collectively.
The heads of state or government from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, while attending the 15th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, strongly condemned all forms of terrorist violence.
Addressing the closing session of the summit, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa pointed out that terrorism had become a great menace throughout the world including the South Asia.
"South Asia cannot progress, unless there is stability and security throughout the region," Rajapaksa said, adding that the summit endorsed the Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in recognition of this reality.
It was agreed at the summit that the member states of SAARC should firmly operate through the exchange of information on terrorism.
At least half of the SAARC member countries are baffled with terrorist attacks. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said in his opening speech at the summit that each country in the region should combat terrorism independently as well as collectively.
The leaders reiterated their commitment to strengthen the legal regime against terrorism, a declaration issued by the summit said.
"They emphasized the need for strongest possible cooperation in the fight against terrorism and trans-national organized crime amongst the relevant agencies of the member states especially in the area of information exchange," said the declaration.
The 15th SAARC Summit, attended by around 1,000 participants from the member countries and seven observers, opened Saturday with a theme called "SAARC: Partnership for our people."
The summit focused on food security, terrorism, energy and some other issues.
Source:Xinhua
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