South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

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SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION (SAARC)

SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION (SAARC) Regional cooperation in South Asia is a recent phenomenon, even though the idea of regionalism long formed an important element of the foreign policy of India. It took the seven countries—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives—nearly four decades of the post-colonial era to set up a regional association, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The proposal for SAARC was first made by the president of Bangladesh, Zia ur Rahman, in January 1980. While the smaller countries welcomed the idea, India initially appeared reticent, apprehensive perhaps that the association would bring anti-Indian opinions together to limit its policy options. Similarly, Pakistan suspected the idea to be an Indian ploy to strengthen its regional hegemony. Amid such unfounded fears, diplomatic efforts resulted in a series of consultations and the meeting of foreign secretaries in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1981. Foreign ministers of all seven counties then met in New Delhi in 1983 to give a concrete shape to SAARC, which was formally established in December 1985, when the seven heads of South Asia's states and governments held the first summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

SAARC has a well-defined charter specifying its objectives, principles, and mechanisms for formulation and execution of policies and programs. One of its principles is that contentious and bilateral issues are excluded from the scope of its deliberations. Decisions must be made unanimously at the summit, based on the recommendations of foreign ministers and a standing committee of foreign secretaries. Technical committees coordinate and monitor the implementation of programs. The overall responsibility for follow-up action on summit decisions is assigned to the SAARC Secretariat, located in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. Its secretary general is nominated by the member states on the basis of rotation.

Notwithstanding many difficult challenges to its growth, SAARC has begun to evolve a common regional approach to trade and socioeconomic development. Areas of cooperation include agriculture, rural development, poverty alleviation, sports, art and culture, science and technology, and women's development. Some of the noteworthy decisions of the member states pertain to the establishment of a food security reserve, the suppression of terrorism, the prevention of trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, the establishment of a SAARC Chamber of Commerce, regional arrangements for preferential trading, and the establishment of a South Asian free trade area. A development fund has also been created. SAARC audiovisual programs seek to foster contacts and interactions among people.

Many laudable objectives of SAARC have not been achieved, however. In the eighteen years of its existence, it has held only twelve summits. Seven summits were postponed, mostly because of rivalry and confrontation between India and Pakistan. There is now a realization that the success of SAARC is contingent upon the resolution of contentious bilateral problems like the Kashmir dispute between the two countries. In addition, a lack of sufficient commitment on the part of some member states to implement summit decisions has contributed to SAARC's sluggish growth. For example, Pakistan still has not ratified a 1987 regional convention on the suppression of terrorism, thus weakening the association's record of cooperation. Nevertheless, SAARC's formation and its ongoing efforts have created a growing South Asian consciousness and have helped stabilize regional identity, enhancing interactions among the various peoples of South Asia.

Ponmoni Sahadevan