All SAARC Member states put aside our differences and move forward for the benefit of the people of our region, says Home Minister

26 June 2010, Islamabad; Minister of Home Affairs, H.E. Mohamed Shihab reiterates the Maldivian Government’s commitment to regional cooperation in combating terrorism.

Speaking at the Third Meeting of SAARC Ministers for Home, H.E. Shihab said that terrorism and threats to maritime security is becoming a growing concern for all countries of South Asia, especially the Maldives.

“Maldives comprising of more than a thousand islands dispersed across the Indian Ocean is very much vulnerable to maritime security threats. Recently there have been some incidents of this nature. In December 2009, a small vessel with 7 Somalis on board was found. One of the very recent incidents was in May 2010, when a foreign fishing trawler, which was captured by Somali pirates, was found inside Maldivian territorial waters. These incidents have not only raised security issues to our people, but this is a threat to the Maldivian economy as any such incident would have a direct impact on both tourism and fishing industry. I believe that this is a matter of serious concern not only for the Maldives but also to our region. Therefore, it is very important to develop a mechanism to address this issue at a regional level.”

Noting that regional cooperation is key to address this transnational issue, H.E. Shihab said that the Maldives, as a newly democratized country, is eager to engage with the regional partners to tackle cowardly and in-humane activities such as terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, persons and firearms and other forms of criminal activities.

He also noted that while achievements have been made since setting up of the SAARC Drugs and Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desks, efforts have to be stepped up for the effective functioning of these mechanisms

Noting with concern, multinational crimes have increased with globalization, the Minister called “not to hold back, it only means that we have to find ways to pre dominate such activities. It is the task of each and every nation and of SAARC collectively to address this issue. I hope that my colleagues here would do their best to combat transnational criminality and violence of all forms in their own countries, since the world can only be made a better place by working together.

The Third Meeting of SAARC Home Ministers and preceding meeting of Home secretaries, Chiefs of Police and Immigration Authorities is being held from the 23th to 26th June in Islamabad, and is attended by all SAARC Member States.