25th anniversary on December 8:

A watershed year for SAARC

By Pramod de Silva

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is 25 years old this year. December 8 marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the SAARC Charter. A grouping of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, SAARC has firmly established itself as a leading regional bloc. After all, SAARC represents more than one-fifth of humanity.

South Asia was not always thought of as a distinct geographical or political area. It has come a long way in some aspects, but stagnated in some areas. There is a long way for SAARC to go.

The idea of a South Asian bloc was first mooted in the 1970s. It was President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh who proposed the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South Asian countries. The Bangladeshi proposal was accepted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka during a meeting held in Colombo in 1981. In August 1983, the leaders adopted the Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation during a summit which was held in New Delhi. But the first summit was actually held two years later.

The Heads of State of seven South Asian Countries of SAARC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) signed the Charter to establish the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on December 8, 1985. Afghanistan joined SAARC as a Member at the Fourteenth SAARC Summit, in New Delhi, April 2007.

The objectives of the Association as defined in the Charter are:

* To promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life;

* To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realise their full potential;

* To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia;

* To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another’s problems;

* To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;

* To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;

* To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international fora on matters of common interest; and

* To cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.

As the SAARC Secretariat points out, SAARC is a unique concept of regional cooperation. With distinct geographical, cultural, environmental diversity, the SAARC Member States encompass the world’s highest mountains as well as one of the smallest low-lying island nations in the world.

The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu in January 1987, just two years after the first Heads of State Summit. Since then, there have been 16 summits and the last one was held in Thimphu, Bhutan. Incidentally, this was the first time that Bhutan hosted the SAARC Summit. The 15th Summit was held in Colombo in August 2008.

Principal activities

On the SAARC Charter Day all Member States hold celebrations to raise public awareness of the commitment of governments to the SAARC process and to highlight some of the principal activities and the work of the association.

The Charter states that the South Asian States are desirous of promoting peace, stability, amity and progress in the region through strict adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter and Non-Alignment, particularly respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence, non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and peaceful settlement of all disputes.

It also notes that in an increasingly inter-dependent world, the objectives of peace, freedom, social justice and economic prosperity are best achieved in the South Asian region by fostering mutual understanding, good neighbourly relations and meaningful cooperation among the Member States which are bound by ties of history and culture.

Despite criticism, SAARC Members have made considerable progress in this direction and in several recent meetings the Heads of State or governments of Member States of SAARC have taken some important decisions and bold initiatives to strengthen the organisation and to widen and deepen regional cooperation.

SAARC has laid more stress on “core issues” affecting the people rather than more decisive political issues affecting bilateral links. SAARC, as a whole, has also refrained from interfering in the internal matters of its Member States, but terrorism, which has affected most Member States to varying degrees, has always been discussed.

Trade has been one of the most important topics discussed at SAARC Summits. Intra-regional trade is low compared to the region’s trade with the outside world. This is a matter for concern, as SAARC itself is a huge market. At the 12th SAARC Summit held in Islamabad, SAARC countries devised the South Asia Free Trade Agreement which created a framework for the establishment of a free trade area covering 1.6 billion people. This agreement went into force on January 1, 2008. However, this has still not reached its fullest potential.

Missed opportunities

As the trade example shows, SAARC is yet to achieve the holy grail of full regional unification. In fact, many people in the SAARC region are frustrated with the slow pace of regional unification. SAARC leaders themselves have turned the searchlight inwards and found that SAARC has missed many opportunities for progress and further integration. The next 25 years should prove to be challenging to all SAARC nations in this light.

The Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration has noted that SAARC had not achieved its potential even 25 years after coming into being. They have wisely decided to have a Vision Statement and set up a ‘South Asia Forum’ for the generation of debate, discussion and the exchange of ideas on South Asia and its future development.

The Forum will consist of eminent personalities of diverse backgrounds including all SAARC Member States. The Forum would provide inputs, based on a comprehensive understanding, for charting out the future course of SAARC in the medium and long run and recommend, if required, improvements.

Apart from the firm resolve to address trade issues and combat terrorism in all its forms, SAARC has made headway in some other aspects as well. The establishment of a SAARC Development Fund (SDF) at the 16th Summit was a step in the right direction as all eight SAARC nations are still tagged as developing or emerging countries. This should hopefully reduce SAARC’s dependence on outside (read donor nations and IMF/World Bank) for development needs and funding. The permanent secretariat of the fund will be based in Thimphu.

The SDF, like the IMF and ADB, will serve as a regional funding mechanism to fund various social, economic, and infrastructure projects in the region. ‘Trade not aid’ should be the formula for SAARC as it seeks to uplift the living standards of the South Asian people.

Education is another subject that has been addressed by the SAARC leaders, who proposed the establishment of a SAARC University in Nalanda, India. They also launched a SAARC Food Bank to ensure food security in the region.

One of SAARC’s biggest problems is the lack of a South Asian identity and people-to-people contact. If I can think of myself as South Asian, a citizen of SAARC, instead of thinking as a Sri Lankan or an Indian, half the battle would have been won. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

SAARC citizens require visas even to visit their neighbouring countries. Only Sri Lanka and Maldives have relaxed visa regulations. Thus empowering its citizens should be a priority for SAARC. There is a case for greater cultural interaction between SAARC peoples, as exemplified by the recent SAARC folk arts festival.

Regional unity

The lack of free movement of people and goods is a huge dent in the SAARC concept of regional unity. True, even the European Union took a long time to become a borderless entity, but SAARC should at least now move in that direction. Apart from borderless travel, South Asians would like to see more transport options between at least their key cities. SAARC should expedite their part of the work on the proposed Pan-Asian rail network. Many SAARC capitals are still not linked to each other by air, so intra-regional travel and tourism is still in its infancy. There should be more ferry services - the recommencement of the Sri Lanka-India ferry services is a welcome move.

The SAARC region should also explore the possibility of issuing a common visa for tourists from other regions, a la European Union’s Schengen, a move which will benefit all eight nations. Expansion and openness should bring progress and prosperity.

A common currency is another option. This is very much a long-term concept, but an interesting one. Several SAARC leaders have spoken in favour of this concept. This should be a distinct possibility as South Asia integrates its economy further.

SAARC cannot progress unless some of its Member States resolve their bilateral disputes. Peace in the SAARC region is vital for its political and social stability and development. As long as the region is mired in conflict, as long as it is affected by terror, as long as its people do not embrace a South Asian identity, SAARC will not realise its true potential.

Ultimately, it is SAARC itself that should evolve solutions to its problems from poverty alleviation to trade to development. SAARC must strengthen its ties with the Observer States and other regional blocs and raise its collective voice in international fora.

SAARC must literally become one nation in its quest to uplift the living standards of its citizens and develop the region.