Saarc Summit
Md Shahidul Islam, Dhaka
I am happy to see that the 13th Saarc summit ended successfully and peacefully. By adopting strict security measures the law enforcing agencies displayed great sense of responsibility. No untoward incident that might have tarnished the image of our motherland occurred, thanks to their devotion and commitment to the country during the Saarc Summit. Our government deserves full credit for successful completion of the summit.People also cooperated with the government and sacrificed their self-interest for the greater welfare of the Saarc Summit, which had been postponed twice. Despite severe hardship that they encountered during the Saarc Summit, people proved once again that they could place national interest above everything else. I firmly believe that the meetings and declarations will not be frozen within the four walls and that they would come out in concrete shape to implement the Dhaka Declaration. The decisions in the meeting to give Afghanistan new membership and China, Japan observer status will certainly increase the importance of Saarc. We are all grateful to all Saarc leaders for conferring the first award on late President Ziaur Rahman, who had contemplated formation of the regional grouping. We also feel honoured that Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has been elected chairperson of Saarc once again.
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