New Delhi
3 April 2007
The 14th SAARC Summit's purported theme of connectivity appeared
to have been relegated to a footnote as the member-states and observers held a slew of
bilateral meetings to discuss domestic concerns.
Issues as disparate as the acts of violence by non-state actors like Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka and the Maoists' participation in the interim government in
Nepal to the North Korean nuclear issue and the proposed visit by Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao to Japan engaged the attention of the heads of state and/or government of the
member-states and the foreign ministers or officials of the observers.
Sri Lanka on Tuesday raised the issue of terrorism perpetrated by the LTTE in the
opening session of the Summit. "No region is safe from the maverick terrorist group
(LTTE)," Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. He appealed SAARC to work
jointly for a counter-terrorism strategy. Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala
chose to focus on the forthcoming constituent assembly election. South Korea, in turn,
hoped for progress on the North Korean nuclear issue.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher of the United
States met with the delegations of the other participating nations. Diplomatic sources
said that Mr Taro Aso held bilateral talks with his Indian, Sri Lankan and Chinese
counterparts. The forthcoming visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Japan and other
matters of mutual interest or concern were discussed in the talks between Mr Aso and
his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing, the sources said.
Mr Aso also met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama. "Japan was
fully briefed on the current situation in Sri Lanka and Mr Bogollagama thanked Japan for
continuing to extend financial aid to Sri Lanka," a Sri Lankan official told this newspaper.
The US Department of State official, Mr Richard Boucher, called on Mr Bogollagama. The
human rights situation in Sri Lanka and resettlement of the internally displaced persons
figured prominently in the discussions between Mr Boucher and Mr Bogollagama.
For his part, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, without naming Jammu and Kashmir,
said that it was essential to remove "obstacles of the trust deficit which has hampered
meaningful cooperation in the region". He felt that South Asia was handicapped by an
"environment of disputes and mistrust".
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