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| Sunday, 18 April 2004 |
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ADB and SAARC strengthening co-operation Asian Development Bank and the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aims to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions. The memorandum, signed by ADB Vice-President (Operations 1) Liqun Jin and SAARC Secretary-General Q.A.M.A. Rahim at ADB Headquarters in Manila, will help promote mutually interested regional programs/projects and help establish linkages with other regional initiatives. SAARC was established in 1985 by the heads of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region collectively. The 12th SAARC Summit held in Islamabad, Pakistan in January adopted the Islamabad Declaration that paved the way for accelerated regional co-operation among the member countries. "Given the strong commitments of all heads of states of SAARC and continuing improvements in relations between its member countries, entering into an MOU with SAARC will enable ADB to further promote regional co-operation for peace and security, and ultimately poverty reduction," says Jin. "Through this, ADB hopes to play a catalytic role in identifying and promoting regional co-operation initiatives in partnership with the SAARC Secretariat." In line with the memorandum, ADB plans to provide a regional technical assistance in helping the SAARC Secretariat for identification of priority co-operation areas and in realisation of the regional co-operation agenda as outlined in the Islamabad Declaration. |
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