SAARC summit and the challenges ahead

SAARC: THE 14th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation began in New Delhi on Tuesday. The significance of this summit lies in that it is the first summit after its enlargement with the inclusion of Afghanistan as the eighth member and interest in the organisation shown by other countries seeking observer status.

For the first time observers from China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and the United States attended the summit. Iran’s request for being an observer has also received favourable response.

This time there is a strong emphasis on trade, connectivity’ and action against terrorism. The summit aims to lend a fresh impetus to the implementation of pledges over the past two decades for the well-being of the people in the region.

New interest

The new interest shown in SAARC by some extra-regional powers goes to prove that this regional grouping is far from a moribund organisation, even if it has not yet delivered to the extent it should have.

There is a common feeling that though it is 22 years old, SAARC, unlike organisations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has not quite taken off, and in a more cynical vein, one may even feel justified in calling it a South Asian football federation.

There was also some modest success in another less important field, namely tourism. But then tourism is not only a pastime of the rich but also a means of interaction at people’s level. Innuendoes are aplenty, and a result of unfulfilled expectation.

The primary impulse of SAARC was regional trade and here the picture is anything but inspiring. The member-countries’ trade among themselves is less than five per cent of their global trade.

No broad areas of interdependence and complementarity could be found. But then, the present global interest in the organisation is an important pointer. Though mutuality in trade was the basic stimulus, many new pressing issues have since come up demanding a regional approach.

In trade also some belated outcome can now be expected after the South Asia Free Trade Arrangement came into effect July 2006. Under the agreement, Bangladesh has agreed to reduce by five per cent on about 4,000 items originating from the six other signatory countries.

However, the onus of duty cut should lie more on counrrties which enjoy favourable balance of trade. The items include Portland cement, plywood, raw silk, vehicles up to 3000 cc, raw silk, shampoo, suitcase, milk and cream, dairy spread, lentils, some fruits and vegetables. But experts maintain that lists of sensitive items of the member-countries are so lengthy that the agreement loses its effectiveness.

Establishment of the South Asian University is a landmark. The university will be based in Delhi but Bangladesh’s proposal that each member-country should have a campus deserves serious consideration.

Another landmark is the setting up of a food bank to tide over food crisis in times of natural or other disasters. Each country will have its separate food bank and will replenish it as necessary.

One-fourth of the total world population live in SAARC region. The world’s largest concentration of poverty is in this region. But that is not the whole story. The region also has a very large pool of scientific manpower and technological capability including the nuclear and space capability.

No one can afford to treat South Asian countries as a cluster of least developed countries at the receiving end for everything. Brown Asians have at times shown a gleam of their prowess; what will they be if they can resolve their differences and become united! This is post-colonial era, remember.

Drug menace

A grouping of this nature is always a stabilising factor in global context when worldwide there are forces of instability galore. Most member-countries are internally disturbed but there are also some, namely Nepal and Bhutan, which are on the threshold of new possibilities.

There are many shared concerns. In 1985 when SAARC was formed international terrorism had not acquired its present virulence. Nor had the smuggling of women and children assumed its present scale.

Many local problems of yesterday are the regional and trans-national problems of today. The drug menace, for instance. For the first time last May the home ministers of SAARC countries met in Dhaka with the specific decision to fight the alarming spread of drug abuse.

It was observed at the meeting that significant improvement could be made in the field of terrorism, drug smuggling and other crimes by maintaining closer cooperation with the Narcotics and Counterterrorism Institution of the United Nations and ASEAN.

Sri Lanka has come up with a worthwhile suggestion that SAARC should take steps to prevent the linkage between trade and narcotics and terrorism, especially the terror financing through narcotics. Drug, terrorism, money laundering are regional as well as global problems.

Various expert committees have prepared reports including those on South Asian University, biotechnology, regional telemedicine, South Asian University, and textile and handicraft museum.

Globalisation has introduced a trading pattern which has made the poor countries poorer. It is said, in a defeatist tone, that globalisation cannot be resisted and all we can do is to adjust with this tide of profit maximisation, consumerism and exploitation as best we can.

SAARC as an eight-nation bloc, even as trading block, can go some way towards giving strength and confidence to member-states.

South Asia has vast potentials but massive challenges await the region, both foreseeable and unforeseeable. The ones we can vaguely anticipate are concern over energy security for South Asia in the coming decades, the threat of some countries, mainly Bangladesh and the Maldives, from the heating of the earth, and nuclear rivalry.

connectivity

What is meant by connectivity must be spelt out. Mental connectivity can be welcomed unreservedly but geographical connectivity will perhaps entail more thorough discussion.

We learn that Regional Multimodal Transport Study which outlines Dhaka-Kabul corridor will not be finalised in this summit and will be deferred to future meets. At any rate, the best connectivity is an intensified people-to-people contact.

Democratic countries perhaps have nothing to lose, that is nothing to hide, from improved traffic from neighbouring countries. Some countries suddenly tighten their visa rules.

An outcome of increased contact at people’s level is greater inter-cultural and inter-religious understanding and mutual respect. Respect and not just tolerance. Tolerance implies that I am willy-nilly suffering you knowing that you are wrong. Intolerance, fundamentalism, militancy and terrorism are the four successive stages.

Fortunately for our world, most fundamentalists do not graduate to the two later stages. In this sombre milieu, a regional grouping can play a crucial role not only to improve economic conditions of the peoples of the region but to protect them from the ever-rising regional and global plagues of drug, militancy and terrorism. That Afghanistan has become a member is happy tidings.

Many terrorists engaged in violent activities in this country or in disseminating incendiary messages were found to have connections in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many JMB terrorists were trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

An internationally dreaded terrorist who had masterminded the bomb blast killing hundreds in the Mumbai stock exchange in 1993 found a safe haven in Pakistan.

And according to reports Pakistan is dragging its feet on the question of an extradition treaty. Is this how SAARC is going to handle regional terrorism? Trade is important but there are regional issues attitude to which can make or mar cooperation.

Courtesy-New Age, Bangladesh