core sector communique

Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s Opening Remarks at the Fourth SAARC Interior/Home Ministers Meeting



The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram is attending fourth SAARC interior/home ministers meeting at Thimpu, Bhutan . Following is the text of his opening remarks at the Event:

“It is my pleasure to once again attend a Meeting of SAARC Home Ministers and to renew my acquaintance with my colleagues.


I wish to begin by thanking the Royal Government of Bhutan for their gracious hospitality. I thank H.E. the Prime Minister of Bhutan for gracing our opening session today and delivering a thoughtful address. I would also like to thank His Majesty the King of Bhutan for graciously receiving, this morning, the Heads of Delegations and sharing with us his hopes and aspirations for the future of SAARC co-operation. We deeply appreciate this gesture. It is a sign of the high priority Bhutan accords to the SAARC processes. The rapid transformation of Bhutan’s political system, the evolution and maturing of democratic institutions, and the careful attention paid by the nation to preserving its unique culture are remarkable achievements.

I congratulate His Excellency the Minister of Home Affairs and Culture of Bhutan upon his election as Chairperson of our Meeting. I assure him of India’s full and constructive support.

As we prepare for the XVII SAARC Summit this November in the Maldives, there is much that our nations have achieved in the past 25 years, about which we can be proud. A significant milestone is the start of courses at the South Asian University in New Delhi in August last year.
The SAARC Visa Exemption sticker system is also an important initiative.
A new format in two categories has been approved by the SAARC Secretariat, who should soon have the new stickers available for issue by our authorized officials. However, we still have much to do. Our group is yet to achieve even a significant part of the potential in our region.

I would like to reiterate India’s continuing commitment to discharge its responsibilities in SAARC in an effective manner. We shall do our best to ensure that SAARC evolves into a vibrant regional economic organization. Here, I would like to recall the fruitful meeting that we had during the Conference of the Interior/Home Ministers of SAARC countries in Islamabad in June 2010 where we last met. We agreed, inter-alia, on the broad contours of cooperation to combat terrorism. I am sure that all of us are equally committed to our common endeavour in eliminating the menace of terrorism.

The process of taking forward a proactive agenda on cooperation in our neighbourhood is integrally connected with our shared ability to cooperate in eliminating the threats posed by terrorists, drug traffickers, arms smugglers and others whose activities affect the safety and security of our people. On the positive side, I may note that our leaders have agreed on the need for greater regional connectivity, better transport infrastructure, enhanced flow of material and goods, effective border control regimes, and taking further steps to facilitate integration.

Earlier speakers this morning have rightly emphasized the scourge of terrorism. Terrorism is the most significant existential challenge to peace and security in our region. It is the single largest hindrance to socio-economic development in South Asia. The lives and safety of our people continue to remain at significant risk from targeted, deliberate and cowardly terrorist outrages.

Since this is a common challenge that has affected most of us, it is clear that only with the fullest cooperation amongst us can we tackle the threat of terrorism. We have no alternative but to deploy the best instruments and resources at our disposal in our fight against terrorism. It is from this perspective that we need to examine the existing mechanisms we have for countering terrorism, drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, arms smuggling and counterfeiting including organized production and distribution of fake Indian currency notes.

Honourable Members, The South Asian region is perhaps the most troubled and vulnerable region in the world. The vast majority of major terrorist incidents this year - as well as last year - have occurred in this region. Terrorist groups in this region have flourished because of the support they have found from State and non-State actors. Sometimes, I think that the distinction between State actors and non-State actors is misplaced and intended to misdirect our efforts to deal with terrorist groups at the very source – the recruitment centres, the training camps and their safe havens and sanctuaries. If I may speak frankly, let me say that no State and no Government can escape responsibility by pointing to non-State actors. As long as the territory of a country is used by non-State actors to prepare for terrorist attacks, that country owes a legal and moral responsibility to its neighbours and to the world to suppress those non-State actors and bring them to justice.

What we need now is to be more proactive in implementing our resolutions in letter and spirit. For instance, there is much more we can do in sharing information on a real-time basis on terrorism and all forms of organized criminal activity. Take the case of our existing Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed nearly three years ago at the 15th Summit. If we act on the provisions of the Convention, it will facilitate evidence-sharing and the seizure and confiscation of criminal and terrorist funds.

Cooperation in our region should lead us to enhancing our cooperation in international fora as well. The proposed UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is long overdue. As a region with the highest incidence of terror, we need to press for such a Convention soon. For our part, insofar as sharing information and capacity is concerned, India is committed to doing so in a reciprocal manner. We remain open to offering support and cooperation through training programmes in the areas of criminal investigation, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, cyber crime, economic offences and bank fraud cases.

Honourable delegates, you would recall that during the last SAARC Meeting held in Islamabad in June 2010, I had announced that it would be our privilege to host the “Meeting of SAARC Eminent Experts to Strengthen Anti-Terrorism Mechanism” in New Delhi. We had scheduled the Meeting on 9th-10th June, 2011 at New Delhi. However, on the specific request of Bangladesh to reschedule the Meeting, it was postponed. Now we propose to hold the Meeting in New Delhi sometime in October, 2011 and I sincerely hope that all Member-States will participate.

Where we have signed Agreements, we must ratify them soon. Where we have ratified Agreements, we need to enact enabling legislation to give effect to those Agreements. And where we have legislation in place, we need to apply their provisions to make regional cooperation in security matters substantive and meaningful.

Insofar as sharing information and capacity is concerned, or helping build capacity among Member-States or with regard to responding proactively on concerns of any of our partners in SAARC, I would like to assure fellow Home/Interior Ministers that India will not be found wanting.

I have no doubt that cooperative action amongst us in areas of common interest and concern will be crucial in meeting our efforts to provide a more secure environment to enable cooperation and development in our countries and the region.

I thank you for your kind attention.”