Dhaka Declaration sounds visionary

At the same time, there has been a motivational spring-board from which Saarc takes a plunge into the new decade. First of all, the new surge of terrorism experienced in the region together with the unprecedented catastrophe visiting it in the shape of tsunami and earthquake has instilled a great sense of togetherness in the face of tragic circumstances. South Asians rose in unison and stood by each other in an empathetic bond that seemed God-sent. If such motivational flair could not bring them closer together, what else would have!

Politically, even before the natural disasters hit, India and Pakistan, burying their hatchets of rancorous relations, moved closer to each other, creating an extended environment within the region that proved congenial to a furtherance of the Saarc spirit.

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It is in this overall light that the forward-looking decisions of the summit documented in the Dhaka Declaration must be viewed, evaluated and greeted for what they are worth. Significantly, the decade is being devoted to implementation of the Saarc accords.

The Heads of State or Government decided have declared 2006-2015 as the Saarc Decade of Poverty Alleviation. A full-fledged Saarc Development Fund as the umbrella financial institution for all Saarc projects and programmes will be set up. This will comprise social window, infrastructure window, and economic window, with a permanent secretariat. The Heads of State or Government seemed determined to operationalise Safta beginning January 1, 2006. They have decided to take parallel initiatives for dismantling non-tariff and para-tariff barriers with expeditious agreement presaged on mutual recognition of standards, testing, and measurements.

The ideas of South Asian energy dialogue process and establishment of regional food bank, a civil society resource centre, and South Asian university commend themselves.

To our mind, ratification of Saarc convention relating to trafficking in women and children and promotion of child welfare by all member states must be followed by concrete measures to implement them.

A special mention must be made of the urgency underscored by all members to set up a permanent regional response mechanism devoted to disaster preparedness, emergency relief, and rehabilitation.

On terrorism, the significant change in the conventional concept appears to be eschewal of double standards in combating the menace. Protection of small states has been predicated on scrupulous adherence to the UN charter, rule of law, and the strict adherence to universally accepted principles and norms.

The crowning aspect of the Declaration, of course, is the concerted commitment to the realisation of the vision for South Asian economic union. Never before in the history of Saarc has such a high premium been placed as on the implementation of the decisions of the 13th Saarc summit.