Islamabad, Jan 04: Differences in approaches of India and Pakistan were evident today as Saarc countries expressed concern over the regional-bloc not having achieved its full potential and called for greater economic co-operation for poverty alleviation. The landmark 12th summit of the association opened with a call from Pakistan for overcoming of political differences for economic growth in the south Asian region.
Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, in his inaugural address, emphasised that political disputes needed to be addressed "in a just and realistic manner" failing which ideas like a common economic and monetary union would remain a distant dream.
Taking a line which was in variance with that of Jamali, Vajpayee however said that development of greater economic stakes would "naturally result in greater sensitivity to the concerns of each other".
This would pave the way for "the more ambitious, but entirely achievable" goals such as free trade area, an economic union and open borders and a common currency for the region, he said.
Bhutanese premier Lyonpo Jigmi Y Thinley said Saarc had reached a plateau as "problems and intended solutions come to us with a sense of 'deja vu'.
He described economic cooperation as the core basis of Saarc and hoped work on various components of the proposed free trade area will be completed at the earliest possible".
Bureau Report