The 16th SAARC Summit
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa being welcomed at the Summit
President Mahinda Rajapaksa participated at the 16th SAARC Summit in Bhutan. The President and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa were welcomed by the Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigmi Y Thinley and his wife during the occasion.
The Summit was conducted under the theme, ‘Towards a greener and happy South Asia', and was attended by heads of the eight member nations, namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The SAARC leaders vowed to commit themselves to make South Asia a world leader in low-carbon technologies and renewable energy. Three agreements of regional importance were signed. The Summit concluded with the adoption of the Joint Declaration and Thimphu Statement on climate change. The Convention on Cooperation on Environment was also signed. It covers an important area that has ‘a direct impact on the lives of our peoples'.
Speaking on climate change, President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that the impact of this phenomenon is of acute and common concern for all of us in the South Asian region, from the snow capped mountains of Nepal and Bhutan to the sandy beaches of Maldives and Sri Lanka.
During the inauguration of the Summit, President Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over the chairmanship to Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley.
The President also held bilateral discussions with SAARC heads of state.
Prof G L Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, Namal Rajapaksa, MP, Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President, Romesh Jayasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and other senior officials were present at the meeting.
