Dhaka SAARC Summit: An Assessment

The 13th Dhaka Summit was no less momentous than the first Summit in Dhaka in 1985, when SAARC was founded. There was unusually intense expectation by people at large of the outcome of the Dhaka Summit.

The question was: Would the heads of state/government have the courage and vision to impart a "coramine" injection to the ailing SAARC?

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By all accounts, it appears the Dhaka Summit on 12-13 November will be remembered in SAARC's history for three principal reasons, among others:

First, the summit was held at a time when relations between the two key players -- India and Pakistan -- continue to be at their best terms with a commitment to resolve all bilateral issues including the Kashmir dispute. The recent devastating earthquake has consolidated their cooperation realising the futility of animosity between them.

Second, in the Dhaka Declaration, all heads of state/government have underscored the importance of cooperation in areas of economic, terrorism and poverty alleviation. There is a sense that the leaders have realised that they have not used SAARC's enormous potential to keep pace with a rapidly globalising world where speed and cooperative interactions within the region have become the driving forces.

Third, this is the first time that the Summit leaders have welcomed Afghanistan for membership and agreed "in principle" with the desire of Japan and China to be associated as observers.

The interest indicated by these countries in SAARC demonstrates that SAARC has been perceived as a regional political architecture that has passed the "teething period" and would in time be instrumental as an engine of growth for the region.

It is not often realised that China's borders are only 100 kilometres from Bangladesh across the Himalayas and both Japan and China have an interest in the stability and progress of South Asia.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan welcomed "Afghanistan to the SAARC family" and noted the interest of China, "our friend and neighbour" to be associated with SAARC as an observer or dialogue partner.

Many political analysts believe that if China is accorded an observer status, South Korea may also be considered as an observer as well.

Realisation of challenges of the 21st century
Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, the new chairperson of SAARC, stated that the constraints of regional cooperation were due to the old mindsets and perceptions of the past and urged fellow leaders to take simultaneous actions in both political and economic fronts.

The statement makes a point that close economic relationship is propelled by the prevailing close political relations or by a desire to strengthen political relations by resolving prickly bilateral issues.

It seems that at the Dhaka Summit, the SAARC leaders have recognised that SAARC member-countries have to face the challenge of globalisation to be relevant in world politics.

The process of globalisation is now the most important factor in world affairs and is not reversible.

It is noted that the word "globalisation" is used, rather than the term "internationalisation". This is because the term "international" is founded on the old order based on 'nation-states', conceived by the 1648 Westphalian Treaty.

The system has worn well for four centuries but now it is wearing out. Instead we are witnessing the erosion of national boundaries and the reduced significance of national governments.

President Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka echoed the sentiment when she stated that the SAARC leaders should "move beyond the confines of conventional differences and be pro-active and creative to maximise economic opportunities." She argued that SAFTA might pave the way for common market in the region.

Three themes dominated
Poverty alleviation was one of the themes that ran like a "golden thread" of all statements made by the leaders at the inaugural session of the SAARC Summit. The Dhaka Declaration makes the point of announcing 2006-2015 as the SAARC Decade of Poverty Alleviation.

The traditional statement of food availability is that there is enough food for every one in South Asia but a shortage of money to pay for it.

King Gyanendra of Nepal said : "As trade has direct consequences for poverty reduction efforts, we must take adequate measures to ensure that poverty reduction becomes the outcome of a free trade regime."

On terrorism, the leaders have renewed efforts for combating terrorism in the region. In the Dhaka Declaration, the leaders have agreed that terrorism "violates the fundamental values of the SAARC Charter".

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh of India in his inaugural address urged all leaders for "zero tolerance" on terrorism. That means governments of all SAARC nations must be consistent in how they deal with terrorism.

The sad part is that terrorists have killed more Muslims around the world than any other identifiable religious group.

The difficulty is that, so long one government's terrorist is considered as another's freedom fighter, terrorism cannot be effectively fought. The lack of generally accepted definition helps explain the inconsistent pattern of government practice regarding terrorism.

Some political observers believe that poverty is the breeding ground of terrorism because religious fundamentalists offer their twisted ideology as a panacea for their suffering. Once poverty is eliminated, much of ground roots of terrorism will disappear. Therefore there seems be a nexus between poverty and terrorism.

Another important dimension of terrorism is that not all terrorist acts are carried out by non-state actors. There is state-terrorism as well. Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot ran terrorism with opponents of their regime.

Palestinians may argue that Israel has been carrying out state-terrorism against them. If genuine political or economic grievances are not addressed, riots break out and governments are bound to take harsh actions against the rioters. That erupts a cycle of violence and leads to terrorism.

On economic integration of the region, SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement) could be the first step of economic integration or economic union down the lane.

Although there remain three unresolved issues related to SAFTA, such as, rules of origin, sensitive items list and revenue compensation mechanism for Least Developed Countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal), the leaders in the Declaration "stressed the importance of entry into force of the SAFTA Agreement" on 1st January, 2006.

In this context Prime Minister Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup of Bhutan termed SAFTA as a bright milestone in the history of SAARC. He further stated: "It is an opportune time to consolidate gains and make it more relevant for the common man."

Conclusion
The momentum generated by the Summit has to be kept at a pace so that all ideas and actions enumerated in the Dhaka Declaration are translated into reality. The Daily Star SAARC Special Supplement rightly titled it "From Words to Deeds" as pious statements are not enough but deeds must follow the words.

President Kumaratunga brought home the truth to the leaders that " There is a public perception that our many achievements appear small against SARRC's enormous potential."

At present ASEAN, not SAARC, attracts all notice from big powers. It is not known whether any good will message has come from any of the world leaders for the success of the Dhaka Summit.

We all hope that the Dhaka Summit will provide a fillip to the muscle of SAARC so that the world leaders do take notice of the Summits of seven nations, representing one-fifth of the world's population.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva