Sunday 1 January 2012

SUMMITS HELD IN 2011

17th SAARC summit and Addu Declaration
The 17th SAARC summit was held on November 10-11, 2011 in the South Province (Addu_Atoll,Fuvahmulah ) of Maldives. The theme of the summit is “Building Bridges”.

Addu Declaration

The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, His Excellency Mr. Hamid Karzai; the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina; the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan, His Excellency Lyonchhen Jigmi Yoeser Thinley; the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh; the President of the Republic of Maldives, His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Nasheed; the Prime Minister of Nepal, His Excellency Dr. Baburam Bhattarai; the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, His Excellency Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani; and the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa met in Addu City, the Maldives, on 10-11 November 2011 for the Seventeenth Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Welcoming the theme of the Summit and recognizing the importance of bridging differences, creating better understanding and promoting amity and mutually beneficial and comprehensive cooperation in order to promote effective linkages and connectivity for greater movement of people, enhanced investment and trade in the region;
Reaffirming their commitment to peace, confidence building, liberty, human dignity, democracy, mutual respect, good governance and human rights;

Renewing their firm commitment to alleviate poverty and reduce income inequalities within the societies and reaffirming their resolve to improve the quality of life and well-being of their people through people-centered sustainable development;

Recognizing that the full enjoyment of fundamental rights by women and girls is an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights and that gender-based violence and discriminatory practices constitute a violation of fundamental rights;

Mindful of the plurality of cultures and diversities within the region and cognizant of the need to promote inter-cultural harmony through greater contact and interaction between peoples;

Deeply Concerned about the continuing threat of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, transnational organized crimes, especially illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, trafficking in persons and small arms and increased incidents of maritime piracy in the region; and reiterating their resolve to fight all such menaces;

Conscious of the environmental degradation and particular vulnerabilities of the region to the threat of climate change;
Recognizing the need to further strengthen the institutional mechanisms of SAARC in order to bolster and enhance regional cooperation;

Welcoming the signing of the SAARC Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, the SAARC Seed Bank Agreement, the SAARC Agreement on Multilateral Arrangement on Recognition of Conformity Assessment and the SAARC Agreement on Implementation of Regional Standards;

Recognizing the importance of the full implementation of SAFTA as a measure towards the creation of an enabling economic environment in the region;

Noting the recommendations of the Report of the First Meeting of the South Asia Forum that SAARC needs to move from looking within to accepting the logic of interdependence;

Acknowledging the participation of Observers from Australia, the People‟s Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mauritius, the Union of Myanmar, the United States of America and the European Union at the Seventeenth Summit;

DO HEREBY DECLARE 

1. To direct the SAFTA Ministerial Council to intensify efforts to fully and effectively implement SAFTA and the work on reduction in Sensitive Lists as well as early resolution of non-tariff barriers and expediting the process of harmonizing standards and customs procedures.

2. To direct the SAARC Finance Ministers to chart a proposal that would allow for greater flow of financial capital and intra-regional long-term investment.

3. To hold the Twelfth SAARC Trade Fair along with SAARC Travel and Tourism Fair in Kulhudhuffushi, Maldives in 2012; and to develop modalities, by involving the relevant private sector, in promoting the region globally as „Destination South Asia.
4. To conclude the Regional Railways Agreement and to convene the Expert Group Meeting on the Motor Vehicles Agreement before the next Session of the Council of Ministers; and to direct the early conducting of a demonstration run of a container train (Bangladesh – India – Nepal).

5. To direct the Secretary General to ensure completion of the preparatory work on the Indian Ocean Cargo and Passenger Ferry Service, including the Feasibility Study, by the end of 2011, in order to launch the Service.

6. To ensure timely implementation of the Thimphu Statement on Climate Change.

7. To direct the conclusion of the Inter-governmental Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation and the Study on the Regional Power Exchange Concept as also the work related to SAARC Market for Electricity.

8. To make available an appropriate percentage of national income towards the respective countries renewable energy investments, subject to the approval of national arrangements.

9. To resolve the operational issues related to the SAARC Food Bank by the next Session of the Council of Ministers with a view to ensuring its effective functioning.

10. To root out terrorism, taking into account its linkages with illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms and to make coordinated and concerted efforts to combat terrorism; and call for an early conclusion of the proposed UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and completion of the ratification of the SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.
11. To initiate work towards combating maritime piracy in the region.

12. To direct the convening of an Inter-governmental Expert Group Meeting to discuss the establishment of a regional mechanism to ensure empowerment of women and gender equality in the region, with focus on national legislations, including timely realization of the MDGs and SDGs.

13. To direct the finalization of the work on the elaboration of the SAARC Regional Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution with a view to its adoption by the next Summit.

14. To formulate an actionable framework to address the common challenge of sanitation and access to safe drinking water in the region.

15. To expedite the work on mutual recognition of academic and professional degrees and harmonization of academic standards; and establishment of long-term linkages among universities, research institutions and think-tanks in the region.

16. To direct the South Asia Forum to continue to work towards the development of the “Vision Statement” for South Asia and its future development, including on the goal and elements of a South Asian Economic Union, as may emerge from its subsequent meetings.

17. To strengthen SAARC mechanisms, including the Secretariat and Regional Centres, through an inter-governmental process.

18. To direct SAARC mechanisms and institutions to develop and implement regional and sub-regional projects, as appropriate, in agreed areas.

19. To undertake a comprehensive review of all matters relating to SAARC‟s engagement with Observers, including the question of dialogue partnership, before the next Session of the Council of Ministers in 2012.

20. To mark a SAARC Media Day and, in that context, decide to convene a Regional Conference on Media to consider deepening collaboration in the region. 

G-20 Cannes Summit 2011

G20 2011 summitThe 2011 G-20 Cannes Summit is the sixth meeting of the G-20 heads of government in a series of on-going discussions about financial markets and the world economy. Though the summit has intended to discuss reforms to the global monetary system and to rein in financial speculation and capital flows, a surprising decision by Greece to hold a referendum caused a new change to the discussions as the Eurozone Financial Stability Facility took precedence over other issues.
The final agenda for the summit has not been determined, but each leader of the G-20 could bring his or her own agenda to the summit. Brazil, as led by President Dilma Roussef and Finance Minister Guido Mantega, was expected to call on the eurozone countries to stop ditherting amid concerns of a global economic slowdown that would hurt emerging economies. Mantega said that: "The Europeans always take too long to find solutions. And when they come they come late." British Prime Minister David Cameron was expected to urge a stronger outline for the bailout package that led to the Greek referendum, but also refused to offer more direct funds for the Greek bailout. His comments were somewhat controverisal as the U.K. is not a part of the eurozone.
Achievements
1. We, the Leaders of the G20, met in Cannes on 3-4 November 2011.           
2. Since our last meeting, global recovery has weakened, particularly in advanced countries, leaving unemployment at unacceptable levels. In this context, tensions in the financial markets have increased due mostly to sovereign risks in Europe; there are also clear signs of a slowing in growth in the emerging markets. Commodity price swings have put growth at risk. Global imbalances persist.        
3. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to work together and we have taken decisions to reinvigorate economic growth, create jobs, ensure financial stability, promote social inclusion and make globalization serve the needs of the people.
A global strategy for growth and jobs          
4. To address the immediate challenges faced by the global economy, we commit to coordinate our actions and policies. Each of us will play their part.   
5. We have agreed on an Action plan for Growth and Jobs to address short term vulnerabilities and strengthen medium-term foundations for growth. Advanced economies commit to adopt policies to build confidence and support growth and implement clear, credible and specific measures to achieve fiscal consolidation. We welcome the decisions by European Leaders on October 26th, 2011 to restore debt sustainability in Greece, strengthen European banks, build firewalls to avoid contagion, and lay the foundations for robust economic governance reform in the Euro area and call for their swift implementation. We support the measures presented by Italy in the Euro Summit and the agreed detailed assessment and monitoring by the European Commission. In this context, we welcome Italy's decision to invite the IMF to carry out a public verification of its policy implementation on a quarterly basis.      
Taking into account national circumstances, countries where public finances remain strong commit to let automatic stabilizers work and take discretionary measures to support domestic demand should economic conditions materially worsen. Countries with large current account surpluses commit to reforms to increase domestic demand, coupled with greater exchange rate flexibility.           
We all commit to further structural reforms to raise output in our countries.  Monetary policies will maintain price stability over the medium term and continue to support economic recovery.       
6. We are determined to strengthen the social dimension of globalization. We firmly believe that employment and social inclusion must be at the heart of our actions and policies to restore growth and confidence. We therefore decide to set up a G20 task force which will work as a priority on youth employment. We recognize the importance of social protection floors in each of our countries, adapted to national situations. We encourage the ILO to continue promoting ratification and implementation of the eight core Conventions ensuring fundamental principles and rights at work.
7. Convinced of the essential role of social dialogue, we welcome the outcomes of the B20 and L20 and their joint statement.  Towards a more stable and resilient International Monetary System
8. We have made progress in reforming the international monetary system to make it more representative, stable and resilient. We have agreed on actions and principles that will help reap the benefits from financial integration and increase the resilience against volatile capital flows. This includes coherent conclusions to guide us in the management of capital flows, common principles for cooperation between the IMF and Regional Financial Arrangements, and an action plan for local currency bond markets. We agree that the SDR basket composition should continue to reflect the role of currencies in the global trading and financial system. The SDR composition assessment should be based on existing criteria, and we ask the IMF to further clarify them. To adjust to currencies' changing role and characteristics over time, the composition of the SDR basket will be reviewed in 2015, or earlier, as currencies meet the existing criteria to enter the basket. We are also committed to further progress towards a more integrated, even-handed and effective IMF surveillance and to better identify and address spill-over effects. While continuing with our efforts to strengthen surveillance, we recognize the need for better integration of bilateral and multilateral surveillance, and we look forward to IMF proposals for a new integrated decision on surveillance early next year, and for increased ownership and traction.   
9. We affirm our commitment to move more rapidly toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and enhance exchange rate flexibility to reflect underlying economic fundamentals, avoid persistent exchange rate misalignments and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies. We are determined to act on our commitments to exchange rate reform articulated in our Action plan for Growth and Jobs to address short term vulnerabilities and restoring financial stability and strengthen the medium-term foundations for growth. Our actions will help address the challenges created by developments in global liquidity and capital flows volatility, thus facilitating further progress on exchange rate reforms and reducing excessive accumulation of reserves.         
10. We agreed to continue our efforts to further strengthen global financial safety nets and we support the IMF in putting forward the new Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) to provide on a case by case basis increased and more flexible short-term liquidity to countries with strong policies and fundamentals facing exogenous shocks. We also support the IMF in putting forward a single facility to fulfil the emergency assistance needs of its members. We call on the IMF to expeditiously discuss and finalize both proposals.      
11. We welcome the euro area's comprehensive plan and urge rapid elaboration and implementation, including of country reforms. We welcome the euro area's determination to bring its full resources and entire institutional capacity to bear in restoring confidence and financial stability, and in ensuring the proper functioning of money and financial markets.           
We will ensure the IMF continues to have resources to play its systemic role to the benefit of its whole membership, building on the substantial resources we have already mobilized since London in 2009. We stand ready to ensure additional resources could be mobilised in a timely manner and ask our finance ministers by their next meeting to work on deploying a range of various options including bilateral contributions to the IMF, SDRs, and voluntary contributions to an IMF special structure such as an administered account. We will expeditiously implement in full the 2010 quota and governance reform of the IMF.

Reforming the financial sector and enhancing market integrity  
12. In Washington in 2008, we committed to ensure that all financial markets, products and participants are regulated or subject to oversight, as appropriate. We will implement our commitments and pursue the reform of the financial system. 
13. We have agreed on comprehensive measures so that no financial firm can be deemed "too big to fail" and to protect taxpayers from bearing the costs of resolution. The FSB publishes today an initial list of Global systemically important financial institutions (G-SIFIs). G-SIFIs will be submitted to strengthened supervision, a new international standard for resolution regimes as well as, from 2016, additional capital requirements. We are prepared to identify systemically important non-bank financial entities.       
14. We have decided to develop the regulation and oversight of shadow banking. We will develop further our regulation on market integrity and efficiency, including addressing the risks posed by high frequency trading and dark liquidity. We have tasked IOSCO to assess the functioning of Credit Default Swaps markets. We have agreed on principles to protect financial services consumers.     
15. We will not allow a return to pre-crisis behaviours in the financial sector and we will strictly monitor the implementation of our commitments regarding banks, OTC markets and compensation practices.          
16. Building on its achievements, we have agreed to reform the FSB to improve its capacity to coordinate and monitor our financial regulation agenda. This reform includes giving it legal personality and greater financial autonomy. We thank Mr Mario Draghi for the work done and we welcome the appointment of Mr Mark Carney, Governor of the Central Bank of Canada as Chairman of the FSB, and of Mr. Philipp Hildebrand, Chairman of the Swiss National Bank as Vice-Chairman.           
17. We urge all jurisdictions to adhere to the international standards in the tax, prudential and AML/CFT areas. We stand ready to use our existing countermeasures if needed. In the tax area, we welcome the progress made and we urge all the jurisdictions to take the necessary actions to tackle the deficiencies identified in the course of the reviews by the Global Forum, in particular the 11 jurisdictions identified by the Global Forum whose framework has failed to qualify. We underline the importance of comprehensive tax information exchange and encourage work in the Global Forum to define the means to improve it. We welcome the commitment made by all of us to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and strongly encourage other jurisdictions to join this Convention. Addressing commodity price volatility and promoting agriculture        
18. As part of our financial regulation agenda, we endorse the IOSCO recommendations to improve regulation and supervision of commodity derivatives markets. We agree that market regulators should be granted effective intervention powers to prevent market abuses. In particular, market regulators should have and use formal position management powers, among other powers of intervention, including the power to set ex-ante position limits, as appropriate.   
19. Promoting agricultural production is key to feed the world population. To that end, we decide to act in the framework of the Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture agreed by our Ministers of Agriculture in June 2011. In particular, we decide to invest in and support research and development of agriculture productivity. We have launched the "Agricultural Market Information System" (AMIS) to reinforce transparency on agricultural products' markets. To improve food security, we commit to develop appropriate risk-management instruments and humanitarian emergency tools. We decide that food purchased for non-commercial humanitarian purposes by the World Food Program will not be subject to export restrictions or extraordinary taxes. We welcome the creation of a "Rapid Response Forum", to improve the international community's capacity to coordinate policies and develop common responses in time of market crises.           
Improving energy markets and pursuing the Fight against Climate Change      
20. We are determined to enhance the functioning and transparency of energy markets. We commit to improve the timeliness, completeness and reliability of the JODI-oil database and to work on the JODI-gas database along the same principles. We call for continued dialogue annually between producers and consumers on short medium and long-term outlook and forecasts for oil, gas and coal. We ask relevant organizations to make recommendations on the functioning and oversight of price reporting agencies. We reaffirm our commitment to rationalise and phase-out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while providing targeted support for the poorest.     
21. We are committed to the success of the upcoming Durban Conference on Climate Change and support South Africa as the incoming President of the Conference. We call for the implementation of the Cancun agreements and further progress in all areas of negotiation, including the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund, as part of a balanced outcome in Durban. We discussed the IFIs report on climate finance and asked our Finance Ministers to continue work in this field, taking into account the objectives, provisions and principles of the UNFCCC.       
Avoiding protectionism and strengthening the multilateral trading system        
22. At this critical time for the global economy, it is important to underscore the merits of the multilateral trading system as a way to avoid protectionism and not turn inward. We reaffirm our standstill commitments until the end of 2013, as agreed in Toronto, commit to roll back any new protectionist measure that may have risen, including new export restrictions and WTO-inconsistent measures to stimulate exports and ask the WTO, OECD and UNCTAD to continue monitoring the situation and to report publicly on a semi-annual basis.  
23. We stand by the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) mandate. However, it is clear that we will not complete the DDA if we continue to conduct negotiations as we have in the past. We recognize the progress achieved so far. To contribute to confidence, we need to pursue in 2012 fresh, credible approaches to furthering negotiations, including the issues of concern for Least Developed Countries and, where they can bear fruit, the remaining elements of the DDA mandate. We direct our Ministers to work on such approaches at the upcoming Ministerial meeting in Geneva and also to engage into discussions on challenges and opportunities to the multilateral trading system in a globalised economy and to report back by the Mexico Summit.           
24. Furthermore, as a contribution to a more effective, rules-based trading system, we support a strengthening of the WTO, which should play a more active role in improving transparency on trade relations and policies and enhancing the functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism.
Addressing the challenges of development
25. Recognizing that economic shocks affect disproportionately the most vulnerable, we commit to ensure a more inclusive and resilient growth. 26. The humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa underscores the urgent need to strengthen emergency and long-term responses to food insecurity. We support the concrete initiatives mentioned in the Cannes final Declaration, with a view to foster investments in agriculture and mitigate the impact of price volatility, in particular in low income countries and to the benefit of smallholders. We welcome the initiative of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) to set up a targeted regional emergency humanitarian food reserve system, as a pilot project, and the "ASEAN+3" emergency rice reserve initiative.  
27. Recognizing that the lack of Infrastructure dramatically hampers the growth potential in many developing countries, particularly in Africa, we support recommendations of the High Level Panel and the MDBs and highlight eleven exemplary infrastructure projects and call on the MDBs, working with countries involved, to pursue the implementation of such projects that meet the HLP criteria.       
28. In order to meet the Millennium Development Goals, we stress the pivotal role of ODA. Aid commitments made by developed countries should be met. Emerging countries will engage or continue to extend their level of support to other developing countries. We also agree that, over time, new sources of funding need to be found to address development needs and climate change. We discussed a set of options for innovative financing highlighted by Mr Bill Gates. Some of us have implemented or are prepared to explore some of these options. We acknowledge the initiatives in some of our countries to tax the financial sector for various purposes, including a financial transaction tax, inter alia to support development.        
Intensifying our Fight against Corruption   
29. We have made significant progress in implementing the Action Plan on combating corruption, promoting market integrity and supporting a clean business environment. We underline the need for swift implementation of a strong international legislative framework, the adoption of national measures to prevent and combat corruption and foreign bribery, the strengthening of international cooperation in fighting corruption and the development of joint initiatives between the public and the private sector.         Reforming global governance for the 21st century        
30. We welcome the report of UK Prime Minister David Cameron on global governance. We agree that the G20 should remain an informal group. We decide to formalise the Troika. We will pursue consistent and effective engagement with non-members, including the UN and we welcome their contributions to our work.    
31. We reaffirm that the G20's founding spirit of bringing together the major economies on an equal footing to catalyze action is fundamental and therefore agree to put our collective political will behind our economic and financial agenda, and the reform and more effective working of relevant international institutions. We support reforms to be implemented within the FAO and the FSB We have committed to strengthen our multilateral trade framework. We call on international organisations, especially the UN, WTO, the ILO, the WB, the IMF and the OECD, to enhance their dialogue and cooperation, including on the social impact of economic policies, and to intensify their coordination.       
On December 1st. 2011, Mexico will start chairing the G20. We will convene in Los Cabos, Baja California, in June 2012, under the Chairmanship of Mexico. Russia will chair the G20 in 2013, Australia in 2014 and Turkey in 2015. We have also agreed, as part of our reforms to the G20, that after 2015, annual presidencies of the G20 will be chosen from rotating regional groups, starting with the Asian grouping comprising of China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.      
32. We thank France for its G20 Presidency and for hosting the successful Cannes Summit.
Leaders Attending to G 20 Cannes Summit
G-20 members
Host nation and leader are indicated in bold text.
Member
Represented by
1.
Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
2.
Australia Julia Gillard
3.
Brazil Dilma Rousseff
4.
Canada Stephen Harper
5.
China Hu Jintao
6. 
France Nicolas Sarkozy
7. 
Germany Angela Merkel
8.
India Manmohan Singh
9.
Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
10. 
Italy Silvio Berlusconi
11. 
Japan Yoshihiko Noda
12. 
Mexico Felipe Calderón
13. 
Russia Dmitry Medvedev
 14.
Saudi Arabia Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf
15. 
South Africa Jacob Zuma
16. 
South Korea Lee Myung-bak
 17.
Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
 18.
United Kingdom David Cameron
19. 
United States Barack Obama
20. 
European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso
-- projected co-leader of delegation
European Council Herman Van Rompuy
Invited states
State
Represented by

Ethiopia Meles Zenawi

Singapore Lee Hsien Loong

Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Organisations
Represented by

African Union Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Nout Wellink

CCASG Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

European Central Bank Mario Draghi

Financial Stability Board Mark Carney

Global Governance Group (3-G) Sellapan Ramanathan

International Labour Organization Juan Somavía

International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde

NEPAD Armando Guebuza

OECD José Ángel Gurría

United Nations Ban Ki-moon

World Bank Group Robert Zoellick

World Trade Organization Pascal Lamy

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