Having announced the "vision" of a "new dawn" for his own country, culminating in the roadmap to democracy a year ago, President Gayoom has outlined another "vision" and another "new dawn" for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

After waving off the SAARC Car Rally from New Delhi on Monday evening, Gayoom then addressed delegates at the inaugural session Tuesday, telling them: "SAARC is now at the threshold of a new dawn, one which opens up new vistas of cooperation, global partnerships and a more robust regional identity."

But Chairman of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Mohamed Nasheed (Anni), dismissed the long-time leader's 'vision' out of hand, saying "it is not worth reasonable people's time. That is all I have to say."

Gayoom has been in power since November 1978, and is the only leader at the summit in New Delhi to have attended all 14 summits, since the first was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1985.

Quoting a verse from the Holy Quran, Gayoom argued SAARC must begin to look forward. "Never will Allah change the condition of people until they change what is in themselves," the President said. "A new dawn for South Asia is not only desirable. It is a necessity. It is also attainable. We must embrace this aspiration at this Summit," he added.

Gayoom also went on to say that the organisation must be focused on people, not governments. "SAARC belongs to over 1.4 billion people. It must have a people-centric foundation. The Maldives had proposed the idea of a Social Charter to achieve that objective. We must develop mechanisms to strengthen the pursuit of the Social Charter," the President said.

"In that capacity, may I say that SAARC must speed up its progress and deepen its impact. SAARC was born out of a political vision. It again needs a similar political commitment to achieve another historic change. We must embrace the concept of regionalism fully and irrevocably," said Gayoom.

He also argued for more work on the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), with the end goal of an economic and customs union. "But for SAFTA to become that platform, we must make it fully operational. Our region has made many strides in the past few decades. Liberal market reforms in all countries have contributed to gains in the war against poverty," he said.