Saarc foreign ministers need to shape up

While follow up actions with regard to the decisions of the "Dhaka Declaration" will come in for thorough examination, the ministers will have to tackle a number of issues, some still somewhat contentious like the Safta, which all the member states had agreed to and signed. Furthermore, the ministers also need to infuse dynamism into the forum that has stepped into its third decade, and is coming under increasing pressure to deliver the goods.

Earlier, the Saarc "standing committee," composed of the foreign secretaries, met in Dhaka for the first time after the 13th summit of the seven-nation forum in November and discussed the on-going Saarc issues.

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They also prepared the ground work for their ministers. The council of ministers is a political level forum and, obviously, it can decide many issues where the "standing committee" is not competent enough to make the decisions. Hence, the Dhaka meeting of the foreign ministers assumes special significance ahead of the next summit in 2007.

Since the last summit, Saarc activities appear to be more pronounced and action-oriented compared to the previous phase when the forum of 1.4 billion people of the world's most densely populated region was clearly bedeviled by inertia and a kind of slackening in the drive that had initially propelled the member nations for working in close concert for their socio-economic development.

Evidently, Saarc is also undergoing expansion and changes, making it more representative at the regional scale and also at the international level. Consequently, both, potentials and challenges for the forum are also increasing.

Afghanistan has been admitted as the eighth member of this South Asian forum, and its foreign minister will attend the Dhaka conference as "observer" on special invitation. Kabul is expected to be formally taken as a full fledged Saarc member at the next summit. Two economically powerful Asian nations, Japan and China, having close links with South Asia have also been accepted as "observers" by the last summit. This decision is likely to be beneficial for Saarc which requires innovative economic interactions and assistance in its gigantic quest for improving the quality of life of the vast multitude living in the region.

While the decision of the leaders to admit one country as member, and two others as "observers," provides better prospects for Saarc, which has not shown significant performance during the first two decades, even though its utility has not been questioned. The United States and South Korea have also shown interest in becoming "observers," and the Dhaka meeting of the council of ministers will discuss the issue.

Saarc's larger ambit in various forms has opened up, both, promises and challenges for the regional body. Politics undeniably creates an undercurrent of tension in Saarc although it is wholly meant to concentrate on the economic issues, and the forum's new contacts with varying political lines hopefully will not affect its cohesiveness.

Saarc has been a victim of politics over the last twenty years owing to the differences of the member states and such a fear may not be seen as totally unfounded. Hopefully, any such apprehension will prove to be misplaced and the forum will accrue maximum benefits from the new interactions.

The growing interest demonstrated by several important nations for links with Saarc clearly points to increasing international acceptability of the organisation which is no longer nascent, and has become more well known, although its effectiveness and efficacy are often seen with a degree of doubt by several quarters.

In fact, the forum received a shot in the arm when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) granted it "observer" status not long ago. Although it came a little late, nonetheless, the recognition is a boost for Saarc which has now embarked on international interactions. Likewise, the European (EU) has expressed willingness for its association with the forum.

What is important for Saarc is to make the best use of all these contacts since resource constraint is a major handicap for any key program aimed at providing collective benefits, and the expertise of these links will also be useful.

Saarc has a number of issues in hand, including strengthening of its secretariat, functioning of the regional centres, various national and sectoral focal points discussed at the last summit.

An important matter for the forum is consideration of the mechanism for strengthening the regional centres, two of which are now functioning in Bangladesh, and four others are being set up -- forestry in Bhutan, cultural in Sri Lanka, energy in Pakistan, and disaster management in India.

The ministers will discuss the South Asian development fund (SADF), which will start functioning with a capital of $300 million.

The conference will also have to take up issues like Safta that have been agreed upon, but irritants involving some member states are still being noticed. For instance, the Indian commerce minister, Kamal Nath, has said in New Delhi that Pakistan is not truly complying with the Safta decisions in terms of issues with India, while Islamabad has a different version.

The nitty gritty of Safta requires to be further streamlined. It is hoped that the council of ministers will resolve whatever differences they may face on current and future programs of Saarc, and live up to the expectations that the third decade of the forum is one of action and for delivering concrete results.

An interesting, and significant, feature of the Saarc conferences is the bilateral contacts on the sidelines of the meeting which often prove to have a sobering effect on the relationship of the member states whose ties may suffer from irritants or misunderstandings.

This time, such a meeting between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan is likely to be a cynosure of many eyes as the process of improving bilateral ties seems to have suffered a setback -- albeit no rupture -- due to certain recent developments.

Hopefully, the Dhaka meeting will provide the opportunity to put their ties back on track. This is particularly important for a healthy political environment in the region which has a bearing on Saarc itself.

Zaglul A. Chowdhury is the Foreign Editor of BSS.