RIYADH, 21 February 2006 — Community schools, repatriation of dead bodies and workers’ welfare were the topics of discussion during the first ever meeting of the SAARC ambassadors in the Kingdom held at the Bangladesh Embassy here on Sunday. The meeting was chaired by retired Maj. Gen. Ikramul Haque, the Bangladesh ambassador. Dhaka is the current chair of the SAARC.
The others who attended were Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farook, Pakistan Ambassador retired Adm. Abdul Aziz Mirza, Sri Lankan Ambassador A.M.J. Sadiq and Nepal Ambassador Abullaish Thakurai.
“Such a forum is important among the SAARC ambassadors since the Kingdom is home to millions of expatriates from the region,” Haque told Arab News after the meeting. He added that the forum would enable the missions to discuss common problems faced by the missions in serving the expatriates and helping them find solutions respecting the laws of the host country.
Haque pointed out that understanding the areas of responsibilities in the management of community schools should be considered as an important factor. “Screening the candidates for the board of management and maintaining transparency in the school accounts are imperative for the smooth functioning of these schools,” he noted. “I have introduced an internal audit scheme to curtail wasteful expenditures. The system could be implemented in other community schools to rationalize the budget,” he added. He said there were five Bangldeshi community schools and one more will be established in Buraidah in the course of this year.
Referring to Sunday’s discussions, the envoy said : “They were healthy and fruitful and I hope to hold similar meetings as often as possible in the greater interest of the expatriate community.” “Problems in repatriating dead bodies are common to all SAARC missions and we have to take remedial measures to send the dead bodies of workers as quickly as possible since the relatives of the deceased wait eagerly for them back at home,” Abdul Aziz Mirza, who left on Sunday on completion of his tour of duty in the Kingdom, said.
He added that the recent quake disaster in his country brought the countries in the region closer than ever. “India lent a helping hand in the crisis. We sincerely hope that the current negotiations will further strengthen the friendship between the two countries.”
Aziz described SAARC as the largest economic bloc in Asia which could have an impact on its economic relations with other countries. He also took the opportunity to thank all those who helped him carry out his tasks in the Kingdom Speaking of the departing Pakistani ambassador, Farook said, “Ambassadors of his caliber help the other missions to work for the welfare of their expatriates,” he added.
