18th Saarc conference

(shanzeh iqbal, lahore)

How to make Saarc a vibrant organization?
18th Saarc Conference is being held in Nepal. It is being held after three years. Whether it would make some positive headway is yet to be seen. Saarc was created in December 1985.It is an economic and geopolitical body. Its charter was adopted in Dhaka. One fifth of the world’s population belongs to Saarc countries.

Why regional bodies are formed, the motive is simple. Unless there is a desire for reconciliation, mutual peace cannot ensue upon. Physically contiguous states conflicts have also been addressed by the regional organizations so far.

The Saarc Preferential Trading Arrangement(SAPTA) was adopted in 1995 and The Saarc South Asian Free Trade Agreement(SAFTA) in 2004. Some other developments include the Saarc Food Bank and the Regional Standards Organisation.

The purpose for forming this organization includes promotion of understanding and cooperation among member states. It was established with a view to raise the standard of living of the people of South Asia and work with joint support and also supporting other regional organizations. One of the motives is to serve as guiding role for its eight member states. It also aimed at speedy economic and cultural development for fostering the quality of life of the people of South Asia. It meant to make the people live with dignity and provide them with opportunities by which they can materialize their potentials to the best extent and improve cooperation in the realm of science and technology coupled with providing a better future to its people and looking for the areas of common interest and joint ventures.

The establishment of Saarc was felt because many threatening factors like terrorism, extremism, malnourishment , gender inequality, illiteracy, inflation, unemployment, economic crunch and lack of self reliance was faced by the countries. Other regional organizations like ASEAN, ECO AND EU were also created to discuss these issues on and devise some mechanism on multilateral level. The Saarc region of the world has been declared dangerous for the climate change of the world but unfortunately has failed to integrate yet.

Various experts compare this with those of other regional bodies as EU and Asean in terms of economic boosting of ties. Asean was established in 1967. It has considerably made its mark in many avenues. According to Muthiah Alagappa, ‘Asean facilitated the transformation of a sub-region of turmoil into a more stable and predictable area in which the role of force has been minimised, though not eliminated’ .

If we compare the role of Saarc with that of Asean in tackling interstate regions, we would come to know that these unresolved conflicts add to the instability in South Asia but for Asean it brought an order in the countries of South East Asia. Moreover a culture of a working political neighborhood in Asean has nurtured over the years.

One reason why it has failed to achieve its objectives is the socio-cultural diversity and the same has been highlighted by Prof. Samuel Huntington in his book "The Clash of Civilizations’" where he mentions that, “Saarc has been a failure because according to him the countries that belong to other such associations, like the European Union (EU) etc they belong to same culture but, SAARC belongs to those countries whose cultures vary” In case of Saarc ideas have failed to get translated as a communal action. It has huge gabs between its promise and output.

The implementation of agendas by the Saarc countries is also very slow. There is a slowness in decision making process. It has shown weekness in devising modalities and some frameworks on which bilateral issues may be discussed.

Challenges which are posing hurdles in the way of economic and social progress include the lack of cordial relations between other member states also. It is said that the states in South Asian region provides safe havens to the terrorists and so common security aspect is not feasible. At the same time the lingual, ethnic, cultural diversities should also be kept in mind.

Why Saarc has failed to achieve any significant success? It is argued that the two important countries’ hostilities are playing an important role in making this organization failed to achieve the objective for which it was created. Abetting secessionist movements on the lands of almost all Saarc countries by India is also a major concern why it has uptill now shown no thespian success. It is said that unless there is some step forward for solving Pak India matters, there would be no hope for SAARC being an effective organization. If the contentious issues between the two countries are not resolved then the harmful impacts would be visible on the countries of the whole region. It would be a collective loss. 40 percent poverty of the world belongs to South Asian region. And the unsettled disputes would further air this poverty. The reason is quite obvious. Most of the budget of these nations would go for defense purpose instead of feeding the hungry. The contentious issues mar the economic progress.

Institutionalization in Saarc is required to make it effective to perform as a viable regional body. For economic incorporation, the political integration has to be sidestepped. Strong regional integration is a must. There is a need to bring changes to the mindset of the rulers and people of India which is a regional heavyweight. It must cast away the notion of super power of the region, do away with the policy of intransigence and show an active commitment and open-minded apparition with non interference in the affairs of the neighbouring states to achieve regional welfare.

Deep hostility and suspicions prevails among Saarc countries. Its objectives should be re identified. The goals need to be prioritized and clearly spelled out. Political and economic assimilation is required. Peace with dignity must be the main concern. All the countries in this organization should talk for ensuring the common development. The problems including poverty, human development, health, education are faced by all the Saarc countries. Strong will and commitment from member countries is needed.

While making Saarc a result oriented organization it has to be seen that the operational strategies are result oriented and the engagement between member states increases. It should be as meaningful and has the transforming capability as EU has brought a revolution in Europe.

A consensus on transportation and energy agreements should be reached upon and common issues need to be addressed. Close coordination at national and regional forums is essential at the same time. All members feel insecurity issues from India. This mistrust must be abolished. Need is to perk up the working of Saarc. The Saarc forum should not only be used to settle the disputes but also to locate the cause to ensure a secure future.

Political differences must be addressed. Unified South Asian electric grid system can help over overcome energy shortages. Inter connectivity for promoting regional trade must be engendered. The countries would have to move ahead shedding their hostilities aside.

shanzeh iqbal
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