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The
SAARC
SUMMIT
A
Subcontinent That is Neither Indian nor Chinese
BY
CLIVE BANNERJEE (IDN)
NEW
DELHI – Though little known and oft despised, the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is one of the largest
regional organizations in the world spanning India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan.
Together the eight countries are home to one-fourth of the global
population.
As SAARC celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding at the summit
meeting in Thimphu on April 28-29, 2010, a comment posted on the web
stated: "Apart from the fact that Bhutan will be hosting its first
SAARC summit, there is hardly anything that inspires confidence in this
largely moribund organization."
The writer added: "Its achievements so far have been so minimal
that even its constituents have become lackadaisical in their attitudes
towards it. The state of regional cooperation in South Asia can be
gleaned from the fact that Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
reached Bhutan via Nepal, using Chinese territory in Tibet rather than
the straightforward route through India."
Whatever the reasons that might have motivated Gilani to choose that
route, a close look at the Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration 'Towards a
Green and Happy South Asia' shows that SAARC has made significant
advances despite persistent tensions between India and Pakistan – and
penetrating inroads China has made in recent years into what has been
known as the 'Indian subcontinent' so far, but is already being named
the 'Chinese subcontinent'.
Reports said Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal are supporting China's full
membership of SAARC. China – along with Japan, South Korea and the
U.S. – was accorded an observer status at the 2005 SAARC summit in
Dhaka, Bangladesh, a country whose president initiated the grouping. The
Thimphu summit also welcomed observers from Australia, Iran, Mauritius,
Burma and the European Union.
Undoubtedly, new equations are emerging within South Asia and on the
international scene as underlined by IBSA (India, Brazil and South
Africa) and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summits in Brasilia
mid-April.
Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that the declaration
emerging from the Thimphu summit, the sixteenth since 1985, emphasizes
the need to develop a ‘Vision Statement’. In fact the summit agreed
to form a ‘South Asia Forum’ for the generation of debate,
discussion and the exchange of ideas on South Asia and its future
development.
The Forum will consist of eminent personalities of diverse background
including those from all SAARC member states. It would provide inputs,
based on a comprehensive understanding, for charting out the future
course of SAARC in the medium and long run and recommend, if required,
the necessary improvements needed in the existing mechanisms.
"Such a forum could function on public-private partnership lines,
and allow for multiple inputs beyond governments into the consideration
of the future of SAARC," says the declaration.
The summiteers agreed that the scope and substance of SAARC cooperation
had expanded to diverse fields, providing a firm basis for genuine
partnership. However, a number of these had not translated into
meaningful and tangible benefits to the people.
They, therefore, highlighted the need "for more efficient, focused,
time-bound and people-centric activities" and called for
appropriate reflection of all the SAARC decisions into the national
policies and programmes of member states.
CHARTER OF DEMOCRACY
Taking the soul-searching a step further, they said, "while
appreciating that all the member states had evolved into multi-party
democracies", they "underlined the challenges faced by them in
ensuring effective, efficient, transparent and accountable
governments".
In this regard, they emphasized the need for regional cooperation to
strengthen good governance through sharing of experiences,
best-practices and establishing institutional linkages. They noted the
proposal by Bangladesh to convene an inter-governmental meeting in Dhaka
on the idea of a SAARC Charter of Democracy on which Bangladesh offered
to circulate a Concept Paper.
"The Leaders recognized the need to draw on the democratic and
participatory tradition collectively represented by the Parliamentarians
of South Asia for the progress of SAARC. In this context, the Leaders
recommended the convening of a 'Conclave of SAARC Parliamentarians' in
line with the SAARC Charter and directed the SAARC Secretariat (based in
Kathmandu) to convene a Working Group, comprising nominees of the member
states, to workout the modalities for establishment of such a
Conclave."
The summiteers stressed the need for a greater focus to pursue
people-centric development with due emphasis on socio-cultural progress
and upholding traditions and values and in that regard, noted the
concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) pursued by Bhutan, inter alia,
in ensuring people-centric development, culture, preservation of
environment, better governance.
They further noted that other member states might consider Bhutan’s
experience with the concept and welcomed the offer to host a SAARC
Workshop on GNH in 2010.
The SAARC leaders emphasized the deepening of regional efforts on
poverty alleviation, the overarching objective of the regional
organization. They called for the expeditious mainstreaming of the SAARC
Development Goals (SDGs) in the national processes and completion of the
Mid-term Review of the SDGs as scheduled.
They further noted the useful finding and recommendations made by
successive regional studies through the Regional Poverty Profiles (RPPs)
and directed the relevant SAARC mechanisms to act on them. In this
regard, they welcomed the offer of the Government of Nepal to host the
Third Ministerial Meeting on Poverty Alleviation in 2011.
CLIMATE CHANGE STATEMENT
A salient outcome of the summit was climate change. The leaders welcomed
climate change as the theme for the summit and reaffirmed their
commitment to address this challenge. In this context, they adopted the
Thimphu Statement on Climate Change and directed that the
recommendations contained therein be implemented in earnest.
The leaders noted that while climate change impacted every country, the
SAARC member states as developing countries were shouldering a major
burden, in spite of having contributed least to the problem.
They emphasized that global negotiations on climate change should be
guided by the principles of equity, and common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities as enshrined in the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change, and should be conducted in an
open, transparent and inclusive manner.
They also underscored the need to initiate the process to formulate a
common SAARC position for COP16 in Mexico and thereafter, including on
issues such as separate financing for adaptation and mitigation as well
as technology transfer. In this regard, they welcomed the offer of
Bhutan to host an Inter-governmental Expert Group meeting.
The leaders welcomed the Government of Nepal’s initiative to organize
a Ministerial Meeting of Mountainous Countries in Kathmandu later this
year.
In pursuance of the recommendation contained in the SAARC Ministerial
Statement on Environment on conservation of aquatic ecosystem,
trans-boundary bio-diversity zones, automated network of weather
stations and regular and systematic sharing of scientific data, the
leaders called for focus on water management and conservation and
development of cooperative projects at regional level in terms of
exchange of best practices and knowledge, capacity building and transfer
of eco-friendly technology.
The leaders, deeply concerned by the extent of environmental degradation
in the region, reiterated the importance of sustainably managing
environment and development through adoption of eco-friendly approaches
and technologies and that South Asia should become a world leader in
low-carbon technology and renewable energies. They welcomed the signing
of the SAARC Convention on Cooperation on Environment and called for its
early ratification and implementation.
Concerned by the increasing frequency and intensity of natural
disasters, the summit called for effective regional programmes in early
warning, preparedness and management including response and
rehabilitation while remaining within their respective national laws and
procedures. They called for further negotiations and early finalization
of the SAARC Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters.
[Source:
IDN-InDepthNews
| Analysis That Matters]
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