The Declaration includes decisions to establish Saarc Development Fund (SDF), South Asian University, Saarc Food Bank and Saarc Arbitration Council.

The operationalisation of the SDF and the agreement to establish a regional food bank to carry out poverty alleviation programmes and help meet emergency food crisis in the region are steps that indicate the member nations desire to take the Saarc from "a declaratory to implementation phase."

The summit also decided to designate the year 2008 as the 'Saarc Year of Good Governance'.

Leaders of the eight member states, including the new member Afghanistan, signed the declaration that called for an early roadmap that would lead to a South Asia Customs Union and a South Asian Economic Union 'in a planned and phased manner'.

The Delhi Declaration also called for an urgent conclusion of a regional convention against terrorism and condemned terrorist violence in all its forms.

The declaration also emphasised combating those illegal activities that are considered off-shoots of terrorism and plays a pivotal role in financing terror groups.

The member nations expressed their commitment to take every possible measure to prevent and suppress financing of terrorist acts by criminalising the provision of acquisition and collection of funds for such acts and also to counter trafficking of narcotic drugs, humans and arms.

The 'connectivity' theme of this summit also got a boost with the member nations agreeing to improve intra-regional connectivity, particularly physical, economic and people-to-people.

"They agreed to the vision of a South Asian community, where there was smooth flow of goods, services, peoples, technologies, knowledge, capital, culture and ideas in the region," the Declaration stated.

Connecting the national capitals of the regional grouping with direct flights, extending Saarc Regional Multimodal Transport Study (RMTS) to Afghnaistan and establishment of the South Asia University are the other decisions in keeping with the connectivity theme.

The declaration also welcomed Iran's association with the Saarc as an observer.

"We have agreed to make tangible progress in the next six months on four issues which affect our people's daily lives: water (including flood control), energy, food and environment," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the new Saarc chairperson, said in his closing remarks.

He said the organisation would work with international agencies to develop and implement viable cross-border regional projects.

In the declaration, the eight leaders committed to adopt the Saarc Development Goals in their national policies, harmonising customs procedures, expanding cooperation in energy and ICT sectors and implementing social charter.

Manmohan said, "The cooperation and accommodation that have characterised our deliberations and negotiations show that our countries are ready for a transformation of Saarc into an effective instrument of regional advancement."

The convention and its modalities, which might include an extradition clause, would be discussed before the second meeting of the Saarc interior/home ministers in Sri Lanka in October this year.

The leaders also observed the need for accelerating development of renewable energy development such as hydropower, bio-fuel, solar and wind power, which would be discussed in the South Asia Energy Dialogue to be held in Delhi in March 2007.

The Eight leaders also asked for concerted efforts to quickly implement the various initiatives under the Saarc Plan of Action on Environment.

The declaration stated, the leaders emphasised that Safta should be implemented in 'letter and spirit', but also "stressed that to realise its full potential, Safta should integrate trade in services."

They called for quick finalisation of the Agreement in the services sector, and the Agreement on Investment Promotion and Protection.

The leaders also noted the importance of implementing trade facilitation measures, especially standardisation of basic customs terms, documentation and clearing procedures.

The declaration also stated the need for harmonising technical and phyto-sanitary standards and their trade-friendly implementation to boost intra-Saarc trade.

They also welcomed the establishment of a Saarc Standards Coordination Board as a precursor to the Saarc Regional Standards Body. The leaders also asked for the World Trade Organization to show commitment for a successful conclusion to the Doha Round.

The leaders also stressed the need for focusing on women empowerment and participation in decision-making processes.

Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom spoke on behalf of the Saarc leaders and appreciated their contribution to the summit.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Khandu Wangchuk and Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala attended the concluding.

ALL BANGLADESHI PROPOSALS ADOPTED
All of Bangladesh's proposals in the pre-summit and the leaders' summit were accepted and were prominent in the Delhi declaration adopted at the end of the 14th Saarc summit.

Dhaka's proposals focused on sowing seeds for future cooperation and Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed outlined his vision in his speech at the summit's opening on Tuesday.

Fakhruddin's concern over global climate change was also reflected in the declaration, as it stated that the leaders "expressed deep concern over global climate change and the consequent rise of sea level and its impact on the lives and livelihoods in the region."

One of Bangladesh's proposals, greater cooperation in environment, was also adopted by the declaration. The leaders noted the need for deepening collaborations to address arsenic contamination of groundwater, desertification and melting of glaciers and assistance to the affected.

The leaders emphasised the need for assessing and managing its risks and impacts and called for cooperation in early forecasting, warning and monitoring, sharing of knowledge and pursuing climate resilient development in South Asia.

Another Bangladesh proposal to commission a team of regional experts to identifying collective action in this regard was also mentioned in the declaration.

Another Bangladesh proposal to reduce telecom tariff to improve the standard of telephone services in the region was also mentioned in the declaration. Sources said Dhaka had been firm on the particular proposal despite initial Indian resistance.

"They (the leaders) agreed to take steps to facilitate rationalisation of telecom tariff on a reciprocal basis," the declaration read, adding, "National and regional telecom infrastructure should be upgraded to boost people-to-people connectivity in the region."

Bangladesh's focus on sowing the seeds of people-to-people contact was further boosted by the mention of Bangladesh's offer to host a Saarc Youth Camp in 2007, mentioned in Fakhruddin's speech at the summit inauguration.

The leaders also took on another people-to-people issue raised by Bangladesh on boosting of intra-regional tourism, as the declaration stated that the leaders acknowledge the importance of "increased exchanges, particularly among the youth, civil society, and parliamentarians."

More specifically, the leaders agreed with Dhaka's proposal to take measures for charging uniform entry fees from citizens of Saarc member states for archaeological and heritage sites.

Another Dhaka proposal to expand the Saarc Scholarship Scheme in ICT and related areas was also directed to be instituted by the leaders.

Dhaka, along with Colombo, has also been campaigning for a greater focus on agriculture, which was also adopted in the declaration yesterday.

The leaders "stressed that South Asian agriculture must benefit from collaborative efforts within and among Saarc countries in developing an effective agriculture research, extension, farmers' linkage and exchange of farm technology."