It gives me great pleasure to extend greetings and good wishes to the people of South Asia on the occasion of the SAARC Charter Day.

Twenty-five years ago, it was on this day that the Heads of State and Government of South Asia signed the Charter of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation based on the realisation that, in an increasingly inter-dependent world, the objective of peace, economic prosperity and social justice are best achieved by fostering mutual understanding, good neighbourly relations and meaningful cooperation among Member States. Since then, we have made gradual and careful progress in furthering the ideals enshrined in the Charter. Our journey towards fulfilling the objectives of the Charter will be one that all the Member States of SAARC would have to continue upon with utmost commitment, in the larger interest of the people of our region.

The SAARC Charter Day provides an opportune occasion for all our nations to re-dedicate ourselves to furthering the common goals and objectives that we have set for ourselves.

I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to reiterate on this occasion, Sri Lanka’s strong commitment to working towards the promotion of greater regional cooperation through SAARC.

D.M. Jayaratne

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka