SAARC: Full of Challenges and Opportunities

As a common regional cooperation forum, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in 1985.  The regional organisation was set up as per the concept of regionalism, which has been gaining ground worldwide.  

SAARC aims to promote well-being of the people in this part of the world and improve their living standard. Gearing up economic growth, making social progresses and cultural developments, reinforcing links between the member states and enhancing mutual collaboration and assistance in the economic, social, technical and scientific fields are other objectives of this organisation.

Challenges & Opportunities

The region is full of challenges and opportunities. South Asia is home to more than 1.5 billion people associated with various racial, lingual and religious groups. Some of the main challenges and problems facing the region include poverty, illiteracy, underdevelopment, terrorism, human trafficking, and racial and ethnic conflicts. Similarly, food and energy crises have also come out as burning issues of the region. In spite of such challenges and problems, South Asia is abundant in human as well as natural resources. When these resources are managed and utilized effectively, the region is sure to make considerable socio-economic progress within a short span of time.

The South Asian people have many reasons to be optimistic if we look at the SAARC Charter that has included all the existing realities in the sub-continent, with the countries of different sizes, various levels of socio-economic development, historical legacies between and among the nations of the region. But, when the progress made by SAARC is assessed minutely, we do not find a very encouraging picture in terms of quality of life the people in South Asia.

However, SAARC is gradually fostering cooperation among the member states in a wide range of areas. Because of its contributions to promoting peace, good neighbourly relations and bringing about socio-economic transformation in the region, SAARC has become a valuable forum among its member states. As a saying goes: 'Rome was not built in a day', the regional forum also requires some more time to achieve its goals and objectives.

15th Summit

The 15th Summit of the regional organisation was held in Colombo in the first week of August 2008. The Summit was mainly concentrated on advancing regional cooperation, accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development for contributing to peace, stability and progress in the region.  The regional body also realised the need for laying much focus on developing and implementing regional and sub-regional projects in the areas agreed on a priority basis. The South Asian leaders stressed enhancing relations and ensuring effective implementation of all regional programmes and mechanisms. 

The issue of developing better connectivity within the region and the rest of the world got prominence in the Summit. The member states emphasised the need for launching fast-tracking projects for improving intra-regional connectivity and facilitating economic, social and people-to-people relations. Apart from these, the issues concerning energy and environment were high on agenda of the regional forum's Summit. The leaders of the region recognised the need to expeditiously develop and conserve the conventional sources of energy and to build up renewable sources of energy, including indigenous hydropower, solar, wind and bio-gas. The Summit also recognised the necessity to develop the regional hydro potential grid connectivity and gas pipelines.

The Summit showed its serious concern over some of the contemporary global issues such as increasing global warming, climate change and other environmental challenges facing the region. The leaders decided to intensify cooperation within an expanded regional environmental protection framework to deal, in particular, with issues associated with climate change. 

The Summit also stressed forging close cooperation for capacity building, developing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and launching of advocacy and awareness-generating activities on climate change. Similarly, issues associated with disaster management and water conservation were also extensively discussed in the Summit.

The South Asian leaders laid their focus on poverty alleviation and SAARC Development Goals (SDGs) as major issues. They resolved to fight poverty through all available means, especially through people's empowerment. They expressed the satisfaction at the signing of the Charter of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF), and finalisation of its by-laws. They called for an early ratification of the SDF Charter.

The development and promotion of the Information and Communication Technology was another matter of discussion of the Summit. Besides, the Summit expressed its firm commitment to implementing the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) in letter and spirit and realised the need for removing major barriers hindering the process of trade liberalisation in the region.

The Summit underscored the imperative for making steady progress in the enforcement of the SAARC Social Charter. The member states are supposed to formulate the National Plans of Action. Moreover, terrorism, education and issues related to women and children were also discussed in the Summit. Taking into account the fast spread of tentacles of terrorism in the region, the member states agreed to raise united voice against terrorism.

Conclusion

It goes without saying that terrorism is one of the major concerns of SAARC. The issues related to food security, energy and trade are equally important in the region. Moreover, effective connectivity, cooperation, coordination, dignity, welfare and quality of living standard of the people in the South Asia are also crucial agendas. The 15th Summit has pledged for improving and implementing SAFTA by sighing an agreement on South Asian Regional Standards Organisation. The commitment to materialising the fast track projects for improving intra-regional connectivity and facilitating socio-economic sector could help strengthen the people-to-people ties in the region.

Similarly, the South Asian leaders' realisation to form the South Asian Economic Union could yet another valuable effort for the development and diversity of intra-regional trade in positive way.

The contribution of the observer countries like China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Mauritius, USA and EU, and new observers-- Australia and Myanmar-- could be very crucial. They are expected to play a pivotal role in developing South Asia as a prosperous and developed region.

Anyway, looking at the resolutions of the 15th Summit, it can be said that the SAARC process is on the right track, as the regional organisation is committed to bringing about tangible changes in the lives of people. The regional forum has taken its third decade as a period of implementation. How SAARC declarations and commitments will be implemented remains to be seen.

(The author is Deputy Executive Director of Institute of Foreign Affairs.)

Posted on : 2008-11-05 06:49:09

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