Fifth Conference of Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians 2011

The 5^th conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians will be held in New Delhi from July 9 to 12, the second time that the event is being held in India.
The Speakers of Parliaments of SAARC Countries first met in Sri Lanka in June 1992 and resolved to set up an Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians. They met in Kathmandu in November 1992. In the First South Asian Festival (held in India in October 1992 with participation from all Member Countries), a unique event which focused on the rich cultural heritage of South Asia, formally launched the "Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians" and adopted the Charter of the Association. The Speakers Council, which is the Apex Body of the Association, finalised and ratified the draft rules of the Association prepared by the Parliamentary Secretaries-General in January 1994. Since then they have met periodically and addressed issues of common interest to member countries. The Heads of State or Government at their Seventh Summit (Dhaka, April 1993) welcomed the initiative of the Speakers of Parliaments of SAARC Countries in forming the Association.
The Inaugural Ceremony of the Fifth Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament House on Saturday, the 9th July, 2011 at 1800 hours. Hon’ble Prime Minister (India), Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the Conference and deliver the Inaugural Address. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha will deliver the Welcome Address. H.E Chamal Rajapakse, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka will deliver the vote of thanks speech in his capacity as the former President of Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians.
Lok Sabha (India) Speaker Meira Kumar constituted the Reception Committee for the Conference with K Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, as its chairman and Kariya Munda, Deputy Speaker as the co-chairman. The committee comprises 38 members, including Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal; besides sitting and former members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Pakistan is set to unleash woman power at the Conference. The Pakistan contingent, led by National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, will include three women MPs, Tasneem Siddiqui, Shahnaz Ali and Kashmala Tariq. Mirza is the first woman Speaker in the Muslim world. Afghanistan is making a debut at the conference.
The Conference will deliberate upon two themes: "Consolidating Democracy: Strengthening Trust between Parliament and the People" and "Sustainable Development in SAARC Countries- The Way Forward". Earlier, the Conferences have been held in Delhi, Islamabad, Dhaka and Colombo.
(Lok Sabha Link .....)

"Building Bridges" : Theme of SAARC Summit 2011

The Republic of Maldives, declared “Building Bridges” as the theme for the Seventeenth SAARC Summit to be held in Addu Atoll of the island nation on 10-11 November this year.
“Building Bridges - both in terms of physical connectivity and figurative political dialogue. However, the notion of bridging differences would be represented as the overarching theme of the summit rather than any set diplomatic or development aims,” stated a Press Release issued by the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 19 June 2011.
Addressing the media following the unveiling of the theme for the upcoming Summit, President’s Office representative and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) youth arm president Shauna Aminath said that the Maldivian government - as part of SAARC - had been working with fellow member states to try and improve communication and collaboration throughout the region. Shauna took the recent recommencement of ferry services between India and Sri Lanka after a thirty year hiatus as a physical example of the summit’s own aims to try and strengthen economic and diplomatic ties between different member nations for their mutual benefit and prosperity.
She further said, “The idea is to celebrate the differences that we have and use these to unite nations to build a better region. South Asia is specifically unique in that it is home to 100 different languages, ten different major religions and one fifth of the world’s population,” she said. “The Maldives is the lowest lying nation in the world, at the same time [fellow SAARC member] Nepal has the [planet's] highest points. So these are differences, but we want to use these as an opportunity to celebrate as a united force to build bridges of friendship, peace and security.”
The Sixteenth SAARC Summit held in Bhutan in April 2010 devoted to the theme, Climate Change.
The Republic of Maldives hosts the Summit meeting of the SAARC Heads of States or Governments for the third time, having earlier hosted the Fifth and Ninth Summit meetings in 1990 and 1997 respectively. (Link - SAARC HQ Website)