MALE, May 14: The Ninth South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit today placed on record its ``great happiness and satisfaction'' over the meeting between Prime Minister I K Gujral and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to forge good neighbourly relations.

``The outcome of the India-Pakistan Prime Ministers meeting on Monday has been a truly memorable one for SAARC,'' Maldivian President M A Gayoom, who is the new chairman of the regional grouping, said while addressing the concluding session of the summit.

The ninth session broke new grounds in regional cooperation by declaring its intention to implement the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) by 2001 and look beyond into the contours of forming a South Asian Economic Community (SAEC), as proposed by Prime Minister Gujral.

Commenting on the India-Pakistan talks, Gayoom said that this development ``has been a truly memorable one for SAARC.''

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, whose country will host the next SAARC summit in 1998 coincide with the island nation's 50th independence anniversary, also expressed happiness over the resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue at the highest level

The declaration adopted by the SAARC leaders at the end of their three-day summit said the member-nations reiterated their determination to reinforce the unity and cohesion of the grouping.

``With the objective of enhancing regional solidarity and promoting overall development with in the SAARC, the member-nations pledged to encourage, under the provisions of articles seven and ten of the SAARC charter, the development of specific projects relevant to the special individual needs of three or more member-states.''

This decision of the SAARC leaders, in effect, means they have virtually approved the formation of a ``growth quadrangle'' by India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan for undertaking projects in areas like river transport, environment, energy sharing, and trade and transit.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.