South Asia - unity key to prosperity

South Asia never really had a distinct identity as a geo-political bloc until they banded together under the South Asian Association for Regional Association (SAARC) umbrella in 1985, almost 25 years ago. It was on December 8, 1985 that seven South Asian countries - Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives and Bhutan signed the SAARC Charter, heralding a new era of cooperation among the South Asian countries. There are eight countries in the grouping now, with the addition of Afghanistan just a couple of years ago.

Sri Lanka now holds the SAARC Chair, having held the last (16th) Summit in Colombo. It was a success on many fronts and indeed the grouping advanced on some previous commitments and made new ones. The SAARC charter states that the grouping "provides a platform for the peoples of the South Asia to work together in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding" and aims to accelerate the process of development in member states.

SAARC has made some remarkable gains during this quarter century, but it has also stagnated on some issues. Among some of the gains are the proposed South Asian University, SAARC Museum, SAARC Development Fund, SAFTA (Trade Agreement) and the SAARC Food Bank.

But it is still a far cry from, say, the European Union model. The prime question is, has SAARC managed to cultivate a common South Asian identity among its peoples? The honest answer is 'no'. We still do not think of ourselves as South Asians, mainly because the message of SAARC has not permeated the people's hearts. SAARC citizens, if they can be called as such, still require visas to visit most of the SAARC countries. There are physical barriers including the lack of transport options that prevent increased people to people contact, which is vital for the success of any regional grouping. Apparently a borderless SAARC with a common currency remains a faraway dream.

The 31st SAARC Council of Ministers’ Summit was held in Colombo in February, 2009

While there is a long way to go before that happens, there are some issues that SAARC should tackle on an urgent basis. South Asia must work in tandem to deal with contemporary issues including global warming, terrorism, food security and the financial crisis.

Global warming could be a major issue for the region. Maldives is one member which has already raised its voice in international fora on climate change.

It recently held an underwater Cabinet meeting to highlight the need for action on global warming. The Maldivian President has gone on record saying he was looking for alternative lands in other countries including Sri Lanka as his country faces a real danger of going under water in the decades to come. Nepal too held the world's 'highest' Cabinet meeting in sight of the mighty Himalayas to highlight the same issues. Bangladesh has also been identified as one of the countries that will be most affected by the climate crisis. South Asia must evolve its own strategy to combat global warming, as it is one of the most populous regions on Earth. The adverse effects of climate change could have disastrous consequences for the region.Terrorism is another vexed issue facing South Asia. Sri Lanka faced the world's most ruthless terrorist group for almost 30 years, until it was crushed in May this year. India faced one of the biggest terror attacks in recent memory on November 26 last year. There are regular terror attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Bangladesh too has faced a few terror attacks. The biggest worry for the international community is that terrorism is a cross-border issue. LTTE cells are said to be still present in South India and there has been speculation about LTTE-Naxal links. Similarly, Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups have spread their wings in South Asia and have been held responsible for several attacks. The last SAARC Summit did address the issue of terrorism at length but more needs to be done in terms of cooperation, intelligence gathering and action against terror groups. The related issues of money laundering and human trafficking too should be tackled - South Asia has become notorious for the latter.

Let's face another hard fact: South Asia is one of the world's poorest regions. A large number of people in the region forego at least one meal a day and malnutrition remains a major problem. The region is primarily agricultural, but climate change has disrupted crop patterns, reducing harvests. Food prices are also going up, adding to the woes. Thus food security is a vital issue for the region. In this context, the proposed Food Bank is a timely initiative.

The financial crisis did affect the region to some extent, though it escaped the worst. This brings into focus the need for South Asia to increase intra-regional economic cooperation. The SAARC Development Bank is a laudable initiative in this direction, as the region cannot forever depend on foreign aid.South Asian countries must integrate their economies closely. Intra-regional trade is still low despite bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. The proposed South Asia Free Trade Area is yet to materialize after years of negotiations. Leading economists have also noted a significant reduction in foreign investment particularly foreign direct investment. The decline in exports has weakened the region's current account position. Low levels of production and productivity are a cause for concern.

Poverty is still rampant, although individual countries such as Sri Lanka have effective poverty alleviation programmes. Over-populated mega cities pose another major challenge to South Asian nations, with rural dwellers migrating to the cities in search of employment. In fact, the statistics are rather alarming - the infant and maternal mortality rate is highest in the world and the number of poor is more than 550 million - more than one third of the total population. The region represents almost 25 percent of the world population, but share only 2.5 percent of world gross national income (1,339 billion US$ in 2007). Average per capita income at US$ 880 is only 11 percent of the world average of US$ 7,995. Improving on these figures is a Herculean task.

This is indeed a challenging environment for SAARC especially in the context of globalisation. Collective efforts of member states within the framework of SAARC Social Charter and SAARC Development Goals (SDGs) would help to reduce poverty, promote trade and socio-economic development, and eradicate poverty. SAARC must also resolve bilateral conflicts hindering its progress.

The organisation should have a long-term vision - can it literally become one entity by 2050 sans all borders, real and perceived? The present leaders must lay a solid foundation stone for a brighter future for SAARC, which can be the common hope for all South Asians.