An SGIB (SAARC Gender Infobase)orientation programme was organized at SAARC Documentation Centre, New Delhi on 8th July 2011. The programmed was chaired by SAARC Director (Maldives) Mr. Ibrahim Zhuree, Mrs. Pratima Gupta (Ministry of WCD, GOI), Ms. Sapna Joshi (Homenet South Asia), Ms. Renu Golani (Homenet South Asia), Mr. Hemant Kumar, Mr. Vibhor Swaroop, Mr. S. R. Nimesh (all from Rashtriya Mahila Kosh), Ms. Sangeeta Thapa (UN Women - Nepal), Dr. Rinchen Chophel (UN Women).
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Gender Infobase (SGIB) has been set up as a joint initiative of the SAARC member countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in collaboration with UNWomen (older name - UNIFEM).
The executive meeting of South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE), a recognized body of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), has planned to introduce SAARC Mutual Fund. The executive committee of South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) is holding its three-day meeting in Kathmandu on July 6-8, 2011. “SAARC Mutual Fund will be issued in South Asian nations and citizens of the member countries can purchase the units,” informed chief executive officer of Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) Shanker Man Singh. “Though this is only being discussed right now, but if realised, will be very beneficial in mobilising savings and generating lump sum capital that can be invested in infrastructure projects,” he added.
South Asian Federation of Exchanges is a cooperative platform launched by the bourses in South Asia with a purpose to promote the development and harmonisation of the securities markets in the region. The South Asian Federation of Exchanges stands to prepare and position its member markets for their orderly integration into the global financial system be enhancing the depth, inter-connectivity, integrity and transparency of its member markets. The South Asian Federation of Exchanges comprises 32 member entities of South Asia, Bahrain, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates. It is the recognised body of the SAARC and is a network exchange association of the World Federation of Exchanges. South Asian Federation of Exchanges’ permanent secretarial is located in Islamabad, Pakistan and serves as the central coordinating office.
“Though there are regulatory issues but cross border listing will facilitate the companies to raise capital from others countries as well,” said chairman of SAFE Joseph Massey. He also expressed the need of capital generation that is essential to propel economic activities and infrastructure development. “To accelerate the economic activities more participation of private sector is required that can be supplied by stock exchanges as they mobilise small savings into large capital,” he informed. However, he pointed out that integration is gradual process that needs to be undertaken on phase-wise basis. “Securities sector being highly regulated, integration of stock exchanges can not be achieved until and unless all the members are following the same regulatory standard,” secreatary-general of SAFE Aftab Ahmad Chaudhary, said, adding that integration of stock exchanges will help the free movement of the capital within South Asian region. “The surplus investment in one stock exchange can be transferred to the one that with scarcity,” he said. “The agenda is standardising regulatory principles so that unified regulation can be applied on the member exchanges. Foreign investment can enter the capital market only if it is vibrant and provide the protection of the investment that the international investors seek, according to him.
SAFE is attempting at replicating the EU where all the EU member countries follow free movement of capital in financial services as well. The executive committee of South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) is holding its meeting in Kathmandu on July 6-8 to move forward on the agenda of regional financial integration within the South Asian region. It is a cooperative platform launched by the bourses in South Asia with a purpose to promote the development and harmonisation of securities markets in the region. The SAFE stands to prepare and position. Its member markets for their orderly integration into the global financial system by enhancing depth, inter-connectivity, integrity and transparency of its member markets.
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The 5th 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 .....)
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)
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, India in collaboration with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), South Asia Office in New Delhi is organizing the Science Olympiad 2011 for the South Asian Countries. The purpose of the Science Olympiad is to search for and motivate the science talent in all SAARC countries. This will be conducted on a two-tier level, initially on the basis of an objective test with huge participation, followed by limited participation by the toppers of the first test. Hereafter, this Olympiad will be called as IGNOU-UNESCO SCIENCE OLYMPIAD 2011. (for Details, click..........)
SAARC Summits are the highest level of authority in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). SAARC summits are usually held annually and are attended by the heads of Governments/States of the member countries. Country playing host to the Summit holds the Chair of the Association. First SAARC Summit was held in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, in 1985.
The 17th SAARC Summit will be held in Maldives' capital Male this year (2011), as announcement made by the Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley on the concluding day of the two- day 16th Summit of the eight-nation bloc, comprising India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Maldivesannounced held in April 2010 at Thimpu, Bhutan.
H. E. Uz. Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, Secretary-General of SAARC, proposed the following subjects as possible themes for the Seventeenth SAARC Summit for consideration of the Maldivian Government:
- Women as Catalysts for Change;
- Women as Agents of Development; and
- Women as Partners for Development.
The Secretary-General also identified five sub-themes (Maternal Health; Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence; Economic and Political Empowerment; HIV/AIDS; & HPV, other STDs and Cervical Cancer) for consideration of the esteemed Government. She also drew attention of the Government to issues occurring within these contexts. The Secretary-General stated that in having appointed its first woman Secretary General, it is an opportune moment for SAARC to bring intensified focus at the Summit level on the many issues impacting on women. The Secretary-General further said that while the selection of such a theme will afford the opportunity to intensify focus on issues that have traditionally been voiced out, it will also be a starting point for generating debate and discussion on issues that have not yet received due attention such as HPV and other STDs and their bearing on cervical cancer. She also emphasised that she has taken this initiative in submitting the said themes for the esteemed Government’s consideration as she feels that there is a moral imperative on everyone, especially women, in places of authority to bring to bear all the influences they can to work for the betterment of women in South Asia. (for more click.............)
Like SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), there are eleven regional centres of SAARC. The SAARC Secretariat is supported by these Regional Centres. The RCs are established in Member States to promote regional cooperation. These Centres are managed by Governing Boards comprising representatives from all the Member States, SAARC Secretary-General and the Ministry of Foreign/External Affairs of the Host Government. The Director of the Centre acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee.
At present, there are two RCs in Dhaka (Bangladesh), two in Delhi (India), two in Kathmandu (Nepal), two in Islamabad (Pakistan) and one each in Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Following are the regional centre: -
- SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka (www.saarcagri.net)
- SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka (www.saarc-smrc.org)
- SAARC Tuberculosis Centre (STC), Kathmandu (www.saarctb.org)
- SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi (www.sdc.gov.in )
- SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad ( www.shrdc.org)
- SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), Maldives ( www.sczmc.org/)
- SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Nepal (www.saarc-sic.org/ )
- SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Pakistan (saarcenergy.org )
- SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India (saarc-sdmc.nic.in )
- SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), Bhutan
- SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka ( www.saarcculture.org)
The details can be found at this web link - http://www.saarc-sec.org/Regional-Centers/12/
