Long way to go

The emergence of Saarc did not provide any tangible program towards economic uplift for the region, but it was definitely a reversal of the trend of hostility and belligerence. The forum committed itself to working in concert for the overall socio-economic development of the region in the long run. Thirty-one years after the landmark day, one is not very convinced that much has been achieved under Saarc. But it is also admitted that the forum has helped improve the political climate in the trouble-prone region, though not remarkably, and also made modest progress in different areas of cooperation, ranging from culture to disaster management.

The last Saarc summit in Dhaka, in November last year, vowed to re-invigorate the grouping that has now stepped into the third decade of existence. It has also decided to expand its arena by accepting, in principle, Afghanistan as the eighth member from the next summit and agreeing on "observer" status for two important nations -- China and Japan. The former is a geographically near-by giant, while the latter is an economic-power with close economic links with South Asia.

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These decisions are likely to benefit the Saarc, and they have raised expectations about the performance of the forum in the days ahead. It is important that such high hopes be matched through increased action-oriented programs. They should get to the bottom of the basic objectives of Saarc -- collective socio-economic benefits for the vast multitude living in the worlds most densely populated region where a large segment of people are mired in abject poverty.

The forum was unquestionably afflicted by political and other problems, making it somewhat ineffective for the most part of its existence. However, it is heartening to note that the regional body has swung into several concrete programs in various areas in an effort to revitalize its activities. This has been particularly discernible during the last one year as the forum has been moving without any major political problems. Some of the decisions taken since the last summit in Dhaka include the agreement by the tourism ministers to connect their capitals by direct air routes.

Not all the seven nations of the Saarc have direct air connections with each other, and it often takes a long time via different routes to reach a member country. For instance, there is no Dhaka-Colombo direct flight and in most cases the trip is made through Bangkok, which takes time. Indeed, it was a good decision by the Saarc tourism ministers some months ago in Bangladesh's sea-beach resort of Cox's Bazaar. However, it appears that sufficient progress has not been made towards that direction, and the matter needs serious follow up actions. Direct air links are necessary for greater interactions in trade, commerce and other fields.

The interior ministers of the Saarc countries also met in Dhaka earlier this year and discussed a variety of issues related to cooperation in vital areas like the law and order situation, and terrorism and combating cross-border crimes. It was a high profile conference that was attended, among others, by Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Pakistan Home Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao. These were followed up by Saarc environment ministers meeting in Dhaka, who took several decisions for a closer understanding of an area that is crucially important to the region plagued by natural disasters and other problems.

It should not be concluded that all the meetings produced good results, and that whatever decisions were made would necessarily be implemented within the timeframe agreed upon. Going by past experience, often such decisions are subjected to inordinate delay in implementation, and are at times left in cold storage. Nonetheless, when the member states meet with some specific purposes there has to be some gain. The present activities of the Saarc, beginning close on the heels of the last summit, definitely deserve praise. This appreciation is all the more befitting because the forum appears to have geared up multi-faceted activities that seek to belie the negative image that exist in many quarters that it is somewhat moribund.

Many also feel that Saarc often remains hostage to the political problems and rivalries in the region, mainly between two key players of the region -- India and Pakistan. Fortunately, the overall ambience seems much better following the last summit. Barring unforeseen developments, the next summit in India in April seems very much on the schedule, unlike many other occasions when the summit hung in imbalance.

The relatively better atmosphere not withstanding, Saarc has several issues on hand that merit greater attention for the sake of the forum. The strengthening of the Saarc Secretariat in Katmandu remains a priority to make the organization more effective.

It is also necessary to quicken the implementation of Safta related decisions. The Safta accord has been signed, but some bottlenecks still persist, preventing its smooth implementation. These are largely between India and Pakistan -- two major members.

The people-to-people contact programs have not made much headway, as certain decisions taken in this direction are yet to see a bright day. It will definitely be the height of folly to expect early realization of all the decisions, but the ball must be set to roll. These cannot be left on the backburner, which is often done in Saarc. The foreign ministers' meeting in Dhaka reviewed the half yearly activities of the forum. The expectation was that speedy progress will be achieved in removing these problems, but that has not been witnessed.

Nevertheless, it should be acknowledged that, by large, the forum is demonstrating greater interest and vigor to make it more vibrant, and hopefully this trend will go on with more seriousness. No one really expects anything spectacular from Saarc, but hopes for modest gains and a friendly, cooperative climate in South Asia.

These are the avowed objectives for the forum, and positive signs are have been discernible in Saarc during the last one year. However, the forum needs more dynamism, and the Saarc Charter Day reminds the member nations of their bounden duty to definitely make the presence of the regional forum felt in a bigger way.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is a senior journalist.