Terrorism and climate change:

SAARC must address emerging global challenges - President

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) should use its collective resources to "gear itself to deal with the emerging global challenges such as terrorism and climate change" was the key message of President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of the regional organisation.

While expressing Sri Lanka's "unwavering commitment towards the cause of SAARC," President Rajapaksa called on all SAARC countries to utilise opportunities to uplift the quality of life for people throughout the region.

The following is the text of President Rajapaksa's message: "On behalf of the people of Sri Lanka and that of my own, I avail myself of this opportunities to extend my warmest felicitations and best wishes to the Governments and the peoples of the Member States as we celebrate the 27th anniversary of the founding of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The long path to establish the regional identity was fraught with many a difficulty.

Despite these initial difficulties, over the years, we have been able to lay down a solid foundation to build a structure, the SAARC process, with the commitment and the collective resolve of the Member States.

The SAARC process has paved the way to evoke the spirit of the South Asian affinity, deeply rooted in our common cultural heritage.

This inspiration has further strengthened our commitment to create conducive environment for the SAARC Member States to make a collective effort towards accelerating progress in the region.

While we take pride in the achievements of the SAARC process, it is pertinent for the organisation to gear itself to deal with the emerging global challenges such as terrorism and climate change. Poverty still remains a debilitating issue.

As we utilise our collective minds and resources to address these challenges, let us contemplate the numerous opportunities that are generated from within and outside the region, in a context where we witness the shifting of the economic pendulum towards Asia. The need of the hour, therefore, is to evolve pragmatic methods within the SAARC process to make ample use of those opportunities.Today, as we celebrate this important occasion, let us endeavour to renew our efforts to generate productive results with a view to ensuring region-wide uplift of the quality of life of our people. Sri Lanka wishes to reassert her unwavering commitment towards the cause of SAARC, in our joint effort to build a peaceful, progressive and a prosperous South Asia", the message said.