South Asian co-operation

The anticipation that the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Summit would yield a rich crop of measures to bring the seven countries of the region together in ties that encompass economics and other strategic areas, seems to be destined for fulfilment in a number of ways.
Preliminary meetings amongst the foreign secretaries and Council of Ministers of the seven participating South Asian countries have led to agreements in principle on a number of important steps, with every prospect that these measures will be signed into existence at the summit itself.
First, the Standing Committee of the SAARC foreign secretaries submitted its reports and recommendations on the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and a SAARC social charter, and finalised the text of the additional protocol to the SAARC Convention on Suppression of Terrorism.
All these reports and recommendations of the Standing Committee have been approved by the Council of Ministers.
The latter also reviewed the progress on the SAARC food security reserves and approved the recommendations by the Independent South Asia Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA).
It was decided that the SAARC finance ministers would monitor poverty alleviation in the region.
Unlike past discussions in preparation for SAARC Summits, this one promises concrete progress on some of these issues that have been on the organisation's agenda for many years.
The change of climate in the relations between Pakistan and India, in which signs of a thaw and the onset of a new spring are discernible, is to be credited with the comparatively rapid progress being made on the SAFTA and other agreements.
It was tension between these two largest South Asian countries that prevented consensus in the past, consensus being the operating principle of SAARC.
It is their forward bilateral movement towards improvement in relations that has given SAARC a new dynamism.
No doubt this will allay the apprehensions of doomsayers who had virtually written SAARC off in past years because of its inability to come to any concrete agreement.
It would seem that South Asia is poised to shrug off its lethargy on regional co-operation and move fairly rapidly towards a free trade area that will help boost regional trade and investment.
This happy development does not mean that all that has been proposed prior to the Summit will be translated into action promptly.
For example, India's suggestions for a common South Asian currency and an economic union on the lines of the European Union or ASEAN may be jumping the gun just a little bit.
Not that there is much wrong with these ideas in principle. Only that the right set of circumstances and climate for such bold steps may be down the road somewhat, but are not quite at hand just yet.
Nevertheless, it would be useful to build on the momentum generated in this summit to continue studies and discussions on these ideas, pending the resolution of problems between Pakistan and India, with Kashmir at the top of the list.
In today's world, in the absence so far of a global free trade agreement after the failure of the WTO conference in Cancun, regional co-operation offers the best alternative for countries struggling with development imperatives.
What has been begun in Islamabad therefore, is worth pursuing bilaterally and regionally to help South Asia realise its full potential for economic growth and dynamism and tackle the stubborn poverty that afflicts millions in the area.