COLOMBO: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is set to launch a SAARC Development Fund (SDF), a pact on regional legal cooperation to fight crimes, and another fund to manage food and energy crisis.
“Food crisis is a global crisis and it has regional implications,” Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry spokesman, Prasad Kariyawasam, said. “The SAARC community will address this issue,” he added.
Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain, who led Bangladesh at the meeting, told reporters that a food bank will be set up with initial reserve of 241,000 metric tons of food grains.
Sri Lanka is spending 2.8 billion rupees ($26 million) to host the summit amidst questions by the opposition about the benefits of the gathering to the public.
“We need to have concrete results from the summit and not just statements,” said opposition United National Party member of Parliament Lakshman Kiriella.
The heads of state will open the two-day summit on Saturday.
The foreign secretaries also recommended the signing of a charter for SDF with a paid-up capital of $207 million to finance projects to alleviate poverty in member countries.
Touhid said that the host county had proposed to set up a regional economic unit to coordinate a set of economic measures
Dr. Palitha Kohana, the newly elected chairman of the Standing Committee, said that the SAARC countries would sign a convention on mutual assistance on criminal matters to facilitate member states deal with criminals who infiltrate into other countries.
“Terrorists have turned narcotic peddlers, money launderers and human smugglers. Such a step will help member countries to bring the culprits to book,” he said.
