The following are excerpts of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s address at the inaugural session of the 15th SAARC Summit at the BMICH yesterday:

"This Colombo Summit takes place amidst a background of significant political events and major international issues, such as food and fuel insecurity and degradation of the environment. It is our responsibility as leaders and representatives of our peoples to give tangible expression to the SAARC Charter objective of promoting the welfare and improving the quality of life of our peoples, which remains at the core of all our common endeavours.

The Delhi Summit launched SAARC as a Partnership for Prosperity, for the Prosperity of Our People, identifying the importance of connectivity as a powerful engine of growth. Continuity, consistency and coordination are all vital to have the desired practical effect towards our goal of regional economic integration.

"However, we must ensure that SAARC becomes more meaningful to all our people. Therefore, throughout the ensuing year we have to give SAARC a truly people-centred focus through all its programmes and mechanisms. It is then that SAARC can become the robust Partnership for Growth for all our people.

"The SAARC Social Charter and our shared experiences and best practices, already provide a solid foundation to further strengthen empowerment of the rural people. In our own country, the Policy Vision of the Mahinda Chintana, my electoral pledge to the people of Sri Lanka, addresses this issue and seeks to transform current challenges into opportunities for the upliftment of the rural people.

"As we meet today, most countries of our region are faced with the curse of terrorism that threatens the peace and stability that is needed so much for the forward march of our people. No country in the SAARC region has been spared of this plague. We need to redouble our efforts for collective action to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It is important to remember the element of interdependence which is crucial for a durable peace and the protection of democratic values in the region.

"We must ensure strengthening regional legal mechanisms and intensifying intelligence sharing, in order to secure the region’s collective prosperity, peace and stability. Further, I would strongly suggest that in-depth studies are carried out to understand the social impact of this menace. Sri Lanka has seen the benefits of such cooperation in combating the terrorism in our midst and hopefully eradicating it sooner, than many once expected.

"My gratitude must go to all our regional partners and our many friends from other quarters that have cooperated with us in this matter. In my view it is also necessary that we, as a region, endeavour to set right the many wrong impressions that exist, or are promoted elsewhere, about the actions that are imperative to protect our people and societies from the brutalities of terrorism. Terrorism anywhere is terrorism and there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists.