The recent call for the revival of SAARC came from the corridors of high-level meetings between Bangladesh’s chief advisor Muhammad Yunus and Pakistan’s high commissioner, Syed Ahmed Maroof who stressed on the necessity of reviving trade, economic ties and more non-governmental contacts between the two states. Yunus highlighted the need to revive1 SAARC for “enhanced regional cooperation to boost economic cooperation in South Asia”. He suggested that SAARC could emerge as a viable emulation2 of the EU for regional integration and mutual efforts could aid in shared benefits. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) took shape in 1985 consisting of 8 countries in South Asia aimed to boost economic and cultural cooperation among India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. While the organization suffered from structural complexities in turning agreements and decisions into reality, the idea and vision of a stable South Asia depends upon robust regional cooperation.
SAARC cooperation is essential
SAARC could act as a potential forum in stabilizing the economies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, deal with the approaching refugee issue originating from Bangladesh or Myanmar, combating the Climate crisis in the region and ensuring political stability and harmony in the region through collective engagements at the regional level.
The growing assertion and influence of China is intending to make inroads in South Asian states through its project Belt and Road initiative. The project aims to enhance trade and infrastructure links across Asia to include South Asian states minus India into its orbit3 of influence. Over the decade, strategic ties between China and South Asian states have converted into double volume in trade and economic cooperation. Spanning from the area of Afghanistan under Taliban administration to Sri Lanka, Beijing has made every effort to establish itself as a crucial ally in India’s vicinity. China’s investment4 in the region is driven by the desire to acquire entrée to new markets, economic gains and a greater edge over India’s influence in the region.
India has been engaging with other SAARC states through bilateral, trilateral and minilaterals isolating Afghanistan, and Pakistan as two key players in ensuring political and security stability in the region. SAARC offers prospects to provide links with Central Asia, Middle East and Southeast Asia which other groupings5 like BBIN, BIMSTEC, and ASEAN don’t provide. SAARC could act as a buffer against conflicts about the region’s water-sharing agreement, the fight against terrorism, the mitigation of climate change, and humanitarian issues like refugees. Some major areas of cooperation that SAARC deliberated and worked on were economic trade, agriculture, energy transport, information, poverty and alleviation, disaster management, social affairs, and security arrangements. SAARC also provided the undeniable opportunity to promote free trade agreements in the form of SAFTA intended to ensure regional economic integration. SAARC concluded in SAFTA 2004, an inter-regional trade aimed to create a unified South Asian market as an economic hub, but showed dismal performance6 accounting for only 5 per cent of the overall trade for the region till 2014 according to the World Bank. Inadequate interregional capital flow is a requirement for enhancing regional integration, as are internal instability, disputes within regions, and a lack of competent governance.
Sub-regional engagements such as BBIN, BIMSTEC and India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral cannot provide adequate measures to deal with greater problems like climate change, terrorism, trade and humanitarian problems that call for collective efforts. World Bank notes, that “South Asia remains one of the least integrated7 regions” which provides impetus to states to work on its integration to enable work on transboundary8 issues on energy, trade, migration, climate change, transport, and political stability. The lack of robust regional integration pushes states to look for other alternatives for opportunities such as SCO, ASEAN, and BIMSTEC hindering any effort for South Asian integration.
Isolating Pakistan and Afghanistan hinders progress in the region
Pakistan is about to host a day SCO head of government meeting, the second highest body of the grouping in October that will be preceded9 by a minister-level meeting focusing on areas of finance, economic, socio-cultural and humanitarian issues. Tensions have simmered between India and Pakistan for years that halted any diplomatic relations since the 2016 terror attacks, but they do co-exist in SCO which offers more space for deliberation and dialogue on the need to cooperate in SAARC as well.
Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has become another emblem of massive human rights violations and patterns of abuse particularly against women and girls, curbing10 freedom of speech and movement through a deepening crackdown on media and any form of critical expression. Afghanistan’s humanitarian catastrophe has gotten worse due to the loss of international aid and the climate disaster. However, it often goes unnoticed that a stable Afghanistan could potentially contribute to regional prosperity through greater regional engagement, continued diplomatic engagements, and more rule-based order. Afghanistan could have greater opportunities through connecting South and Central Asian regions. The Central Asia- South Asia Electricity Transmission project could provide surplus hydropower to South Asia through Central Asia. Building land corridors through Afghanistan would provide Central Asian countries greater access to Iran on the one hand and to India, Pakistan, and Indo-Pacific on the other hand thereby promoting regional11 prosperity. With mounting human rights violations, belligerent relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, growing transnational threats of terrorism, and a repository of myriad12militant groups generate the need for more regional cooperation to overcome it through rule-based order.
India’s Contribution to SAARC
India encouraged and supported several initiatives by engaging parties in areas of trade, connectivity links through land, air, and sea, enhancing regional integration through dialogue and greater people-to-people contacts. India’s steadfast13Initiatives of encompassing South Asian states to its National Knowledge Network, launching the South Asian Satellite, SAARC Disaster Management Centre, and establishing the South Asian University in New Delhi showed its vigour to ensure more regional integration. Moreover, the Global health crisis provided the impetus for cooperation in South Asia when Prime Minister Modi extended an invitation for a video conference to all SAARC states after the dormant period of no collective engagement. Though the conference witnessed the same political thaw between Pakistan and India on Kashmir and cross-border terrorism, it also showed how smaller states depended on aid and assistance at the time of Global crisis from their neighbours when Prime Minster Modi announced14 COVID-19 emergency fund to fight against the pandemic.
India’s support for Global South without South Asia is incomplete
“India’s own welfare depends upon the welfare15 of its neighbours”. India’s steadfast commitment to acquiring global stature and standing for the collective voices of the Global South by bridging the gap between the West and the Global South eclipsed its role at the regional level. The spectre of instability haunts South Asia where Bangladesh is already going through a political crisis, Pakistan is reeling under an economic crisis, Maldives showed its displeasure by launching its “India out” campaign, Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban creating a security crisis, Nepal and Bhutan are oscillating between pro-India and pro-China side, Sri Lanka reeled under sovereign default together demonstrating the bleak16 implications for India. Lack of regional institutionalization and regional instability pose a gigantic obstacle to India’s rise at the Global level unless it creates strong regional engagements like China in South Asia.
Consensus-based SAARC
The lack of proactive cooperation is a major bone of contention among the states that obstructed the vision of constructive empowerment17 of South Asia. The re-institutionalization of SAARC can aid in overcoming political and economic difficulties through cooperation. The political thaw between India-Pakistan, smaller states’ skepticism over India’s big brother attitude and China’s influence are major reasons for slow progress. The unfettered growth can be attained only when India prioritizes its “neighbourhood first policy” that could enable political communication18, recuperating the trust deficit and bipartisan support through Samvad, Sahyaog and Samriddhi.
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