At the opening session of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Kathmandu, on January 5, 2002 the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee conveyed to Pakistan and its ally in the war on terrorism, the U.S.A. and others that mere gestures of friendship and readiness for talks were futile if they were not matched by action to stop cross border terrorism. SAARC signed two important conventions which sought to prevent trafficking of women and children for prostitution and the use of child labour in the region. The 12th SAARC was hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad in June 2004. Bangladesh was the host for the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka from November 12 13, 2005. The 14th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit (SAARC) was held in New Delhi during April 3 4, 2007. In his inaugural address, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced unilateral liberalistion of visas for students, teachers, professors, journalists and patients from SAARC. He also announced zero duty access to India before and end of2007 to the least developed countries (LDCs) of South Asia and offered to further reduce the sensitive list in respect to this countries. The 15th SAARC Summit was held in Colombo (Sri Lanka) on August 2 3, 2008. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh led the Indian delegation. The need to provide security to the people of South Asia from hunger and terrorism dominated the 2 day meet. In this connection, the Colombo Declaration on Food Security was made under the theme, Partnership for Growth of Our People. Operationalisation of SAARC Development Fund was also mooted. On terorism, the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was signed to provide a greater sense of security within the region. Bhutan (Thimphu) would host the next (16th) SAARC Summit
