Dhaka Declaration and post-SAARC Summit action

Twenty years have passed since the First SAARC Summit declared that notwithstanding the misunderstandings of the past, 'regional cooperation is necessary, desirable and mutually beneficial.' Two decades later, the SAARC leadership met again in Dhaka and tried to ascertain whether the SAARC process had been able to foster confidence and trust within the region. They also tried to assess whether the seven countries were looking at their problems in a regional as opposed to only individual or bilateral contexts.

The SAARC leaders in their 53 point Dhaka Declaration agreed on the need to improve regional relations, to expand the group, to create a regional disaster management centre, to implement SAFTA and to reduce poverty over the coming decade. They also signed three major agreements, all for facilitating intra-regional trade-Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, Limited Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Agreement on the Establishment of SAARC Arbitration Council.

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Yes, on paper it appears that many pious intentions have been agreed upon. However, analysis of the Declaration indicates that while the leadership agreed to achieve certain objectives, they left the hard task of implementation to decisions to be undertaken in future meetings. Modalities and regulatory mechanisms pertaining to the implementation of Summit decisions have not been clarified. This will only create delay.

For example, a lot of effort has gone into identifying South Asian Development Goals and steps towards poverty alleviation. This has been done because higher population growth juxtaposed with lack of education and healthcare has made the South Asian population more vulnerable. It has also been prompted from the realisation that lack of regional cooperation is directly contributing towards the slow pace in the reduction of poverty.

The leadership has agreed that effective tackling of this complex phenomenon will require not only an active engagement but also the creation of a suitable Fund. Accordingly, they have decided to establish a SAARC Poverty Alleviation Fund (SPAF). Agreeing on suitable operational modalities with regard to the Fund has however been left to the Finance/Planning Ministers -- and that means further delay.

At the present moment we have a South Asian Development Fund (SADF) with USD 6 million in its coffer. In the absence of clear guide lines, its activities have suffered. The SADF has so far financed a negligible number of feasibility studies of poverty reduction projects. They have also been unable to implement any of them due to resource constraint. This hesitation has similarly led to indecisiveness with regard to use of the US dollar 100 million already offered by India for undertaking poverty reduction measures in the six member states of SAARC other than India.

I can only hope that this time round the responsible SAARC authorities will take meaningful steps to raise the capital and speedily launch the agreed SAARC Poverty Alleviation Fund. This Fund could be mobilised through contributions from Member States as well as individuals. I also strongly suggest that the Member States should consider taken advantage of Clause 3 of Article IX of the SAARC Charter which states that "in case sufficient financial resources cannot be mobilised within the region for funding activities of the Association, external financing from appropriate sources may be mobilised with the approval of or by the Standing Committee." I believe that this opens the possibility of acquiring additional funds, if so required, from international donor agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

It was also satisfying to see that the South Asian leadership understands that poverty reduction will require the creation of a more technically educated human resource base. It may be recalled that the SAARC Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC) was established in Islamabad in 1999 with the objectives of undertaking research, imparting training and providing information on human resource development. Six years later, it has hardly made any progress.

In view of that, it was heartening to note the Indian Prime Minister's proposal to set up a South Asia University. It is the mind-set behind this idea that is laudable. However, instead of starting another new institution, it might be advisable to undertake capacity building, expansion and strengthening of the existing facility. We already have excellent educational institutions that can easily transform SHRDC into an institution of excellence through indirect support. One hopes that the SAARC leadership will now address their attention to this important matter and take necessary steps. This is vital, given the region's need for focussing on agriculture and pisciculture (the mainstay of economic activity for the billion strong rural population of this region) and also on information technology.

I will now turn to meaningful cooperation not only with regard to prevention of natural disasters but also in the tackling of the aftermath of disasters. South Asia, in the last few years has had more than its share of floods and earthquakes. It has also had to bear the brunt of a devastating tsunami.

The recently concluded Summit has seen agreement on the need for protecting the environment, controlling population and preparing for natural disasters. More than one leader reminded us of the need for forging closer ties and deriving benefits from the synergy of collective, well-planned and focussed initiatives. It was also underlined that SAARC should evolve regional mechanisms for effective and timely cooperation pertaining to disaster relief and management and also to addressing health emergencies. It was also suggested that a SAARC Health Surveillance Centre needs to be established. These ideas look good on paper but what about implementation? It is not clear as to who will be responsible for getting these ideas off the ground and who will bear the related expenditure in what proportion. I express my anxiety in this regard because infrastructure building can easily be affected by mistrust and competing interests.

We have to understand that pious intentions and agreement on paper will be meaningless without concrete action. It would have been advisable if the SAARC leadership; instead of widening the agenda had generated more dynamics with regard to past agreed programmes. That does not seem to have taken place.

A SAARC Plan of Action on Environment already exists. The SAARC Summit this time round, could have focussed more closely on this, and ascertained why this is not moving forward. For example, a decision could have been taken to create a Task Force for drafting a Regional Environment Treaty. They could have also pledged funds and resources for this purpose. Nothing like that happened. There was also no agreement on the need for establishing a Disaster Management Directorate within the SAARC Secretariat.

I now turn to the question of facilitating trade within SAARC. The Summit stressed on the importance of the entry into force of the SAFTA Agreement. This reflected that despite general understanding on all sides about regional economic cooperation, differences remain. The existence of comparative advantage on similar products -- textile materials and products, leather and leather products, agricultural products and fresh fish -- within South Asia appears to be hampering progress.

The SAFTA agreement was signed during the 12th SAARC Summit in January, 2004 and was expected to enter into force in January 2006. That does not look likely at this moment. The committee entrusted with the task of completing negotiations on the four outstanding issues of sensitive lists rules of origin, revenue loss compensation mechanism and technical assistance has not been able to finalise agreed formulas. They have whittled down differences on sensitive lists and rules of origin but disagreements still remain. Greater efforts are required to reduce all barriers to trade, not just tariffs. The same is true of the revenue compensation mechanism.

I believe that the complexities and mutual distrust can only be removed through generation of political will. In this context, it will not be enough to leave completion of national procedures to committees. Operationalisation will require active intervention from the political leadership. Member States have to transcend immediate interests. Future economic integration demands that they overcome obstacles and iron out their differences.

Another area that needs greater attention is the effective containment of terrorism. The recently concluded Summit, as expected, has reiterated the need for collective response to this hydra-headed monster. They have called for early and effective implementation of the Additional Protocol to the SAARC Convention on Suppression of Terrorism but have refrained from any reference to the need for agreeing to a fast-track extradition procedure for criminals and terrorists who have sought sanctuary in one SAARC state after perpetrating criminal acts in another SAARC country. This step is vital for any effective engagement. The European Union is already profiting from such a uniform measure. Our leadership should try to replicate this is South Asia.

I cannot however conclude this column without three other observations.

SAARC members need to reconcile themselves with the fact that there have been changes in the international scene. They have taken the right decision to expand the horizon of SAARC by including Afghanistan in the process and agreeing to accord the status of Observer to China and Japan. Ways and means must also be found to strengthen the SAARC Secretariat by empowering and authorising it to undertake meaningful dialogues with the ASEAN, the EU and the UN. This will enhance the prestige of the Secretariat and add to the importance of the South Asian institution in the international arena.

The second relates to the need for the SAARC Summit not only to convene their meetings annually, as scheduled, on a regular basis, but also to meet if possible, at least one more time within the year. They should also try to devolve the power of decision making to the ministerial level, so that the secretariat can implement decisions without delay. Meetings also need to be more functional and less extravagant and ritualistic.

The last relates to the undertaking of a conscious effort to create a South Asian mind-set among the peoples of the region and their leadership and remove the 'trust deficit.' Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has quite aptly underlined the need to 'move from conflict management to conflict resolutions through credible solutions and sharing of best practices.'

This will be the only way to firmly embed the footprint of SAARC in this region. The current SAARC Chairperson has less than a year to prove this before the Caretaker Administration takes over. Within these ten months we can either have effective leadership or several rounds of meaningless meetings.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador -- any response to mzamir@dhaka.net