THE SPEECH by Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the SAARC Heads of State Summit on Saturday in Colombo.

I present the warm wishes of the Afghan people to each and all of you in this august gathering. Addressing, in particular, my friend Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, I once again share my deep sense of shock and pain for the loss of precious Indian and Afghan lives at the bombing of Indian Embassy in Kabul on 7 July.

I wish to begin by congratulating His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his election as Chairperson of SAARC. I also convey my deep appreciation to the Government and people of Sri Lanka for the excellent arrangements made for the 15th Summit, and for the warm and generous hospitality that has been extended to all of us.

Terrorism featured prominently in the addresses of the SAARC leaders at the inauguration of the 15th SAARC Summit. They were united in condemnation of terrorism and warning of the threat it posed to development of the region. Here are their observations.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, addressing the opening session of the 15th SAARC Summit this morning (August 2) at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, called on the South Asian leaders attending the summit to commit themselves and their countries to a more determined and concerted effort to collectively combat the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestation.