Aug 02 2008
Terrorism is biggest threat to South Asia: PM!
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that Terrorism is the biggest threat to South Asia’s stability. While speaking at the opening ceremony of the 3-day long 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Colombo, he reminded the twin blasts in Bangalore and Ahmadabad and the Indian Embassy attack in Kabul, and stressed the need to fight terrorism.
“Terrorists and extremists don’t know borders. We must act with determination to fight terrorism. We cannot lose the battle against ideologies of hatred,” said Dr Singh.
He further called on the eight-nation regional grouping to identify and address new challenges if it wants to be a dynamic and responsive body. Dr Singh also discussed the surging crude prices and warned member nations that rising crude prices could jeopardize the region’s economic development. He said, “We must pool our resources to tap renewable resources in South Asia”.
Calling the establishment of SAARC Food Bank in 2007 an extremely significant development, Dr Singh said it was “an example of our foresight in the wake of world food crisis”.
“We need a second Green Revolution” to tackle the growing food crisis, the Prime Minister said in his address. “South Asian countries need to work together to ensure food security so that the specter of food shortages and hunger vanishes from our region,” he added.
