Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has called for bridging iniquities within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region so that the benefits of development are spread evenly in South Asia. In a message on the 19th Anniversary of the signing of the SAARC Charter, Aziz said cooperation under SAARC must pay due attention to bridging iniquities both within the region and within our societies. "Benefits of cooperation for development must be spread evenly in South Asia to ensure a region-wide uplift of the quality of life of our peoples," the prime minister said. Aziz said nineteen years ago the seven South Asian nations signed the Charter of the SAARC. _Since then, we have come a long way in our collective endeavours to promote regional cooperation under the SAARC aegis,_ he added. Pakistan, he said, has an abiding commitment to the realization of the goals and objectives of the SAARC Charter. The prime minister Guided by the Charter, Pakistan has always made sincere efforts to promote peace, stability, amity and progress in the region. Aziz said SAARC, in its 3rd decade of existence should be more result oriented and issue driven. He said as current Chairman of SAARC Pakistan has endeavoured to broaden and deepen regional cooperation as well as enhance SAARC's global profile. "We have been able to instill a sense of renewed confidence and commitment to the realization of the SAARC goals and to surveying new horizons for mutually beneficial regional cooperation,_ the prime minister said. Aziz said the government and the people of Pakistan remain firm in their resolve to jointly endeavour for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous South Asia.
