Mr. Ahmed Saleem, new Secretary General, SAARC called on Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at the Prime Minister’s House here Thursday.
The Prime Minister congratulated the new Secretary General on the assumption of his office and hoped that during his tenure the SAARC Secretariat would pro-actively follow the implementation of the decisions of SAARC Summits.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan attaches high importance to the Organization as it was going to play an important role in bringing the people of the members’ states together by promoting investment, trade and people to people contact.
Gilani said that the SAARC Summits had provided excellent opportunities to the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India to hold meetings on the sideline paving the way for the resumption of dialogue between the two countries. The progress made so far in the normalization of relations between Pakistan and India largely owed to such meetings.
He conveyed his best regards to the President of Maldives adding he carried the fond memoirs of the beautiful country.
The Secretary General said that the world at large recognized the strategic importance of SAARC and therefore USA, EU, China etc. had sought the observer status which was testimony to its emerging significance in the international fora.
The Secretary General said that it was heartening to know that two important countries of SAARC, Pakistan and India had covered good ground in improving their relations and were incrementally increasing the trade between them.
The Secretary General said that the Centre of SAARC in Pakistan has been functioning exceptionally well and it would be his endeavours to bring other ten centres in other countries at par making their centres as centres of excellence.