SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the
signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. SAARC comprises of eight
Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka. The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987.
The idea to form SAARC was given by former president of Bangladesh Ziar- Ur- Rehman.

Decisions at all levels are taken on the basis of unanimity (consensus); and bilateral and
contentious issues are excluded from the deliberations of the Association.

SAARC is based on three pillars of regional cooperation, regional integration and

multilateralism. It has been created with the purpose of having peace and prosperity in
South Asia. Following are SAARC areas of cooperation:

1. Human resource development and tourism.

2. Agriculture and rural development
3. Environment, natural disasters and biotechnology
4. Economic, trade and finance
5. Social affairs
6. Information and poverty alleviation
7. Energy, transport, science and technology
8. Education, security and culture
9. Meeting of SAARC cabinet secretaries: The idea of Meeting of SAARC Cabinet
Secretaries was suggested by India in year 2008 to discuss professional issues of
common concern such as administrative reform, procedural simplifications and
implementation of development programs. The Cabinet Secretaries of SAARC has so
far met four times i.e. New Delhi, November 2009; Dhaka, April 2014; Islamabad,
April 2015; and Kathmandu, June 2016.
10. Public Service Commissions of SAARC Member States: At the invitation of the
Government of India, the first Meeting of the Chiefs of Public / Civil Service
Commissions of SAARC Member States was held in New Delhi from 20 – 22
November 2010. Such meeting can be useful for sharing of best practices.

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Initially bilateral matters and contentious issues (trade matters) were kept out of the
purview of SAARC. However, trade related matters have been subsequently discussed in
SAARC and even SAPTA and SAFTA was signed but bilateral matters are still not part of
SAARC.

Following are major achievements of SAARC:

 South Asian University

 South Asian food bank
 South Asian film festival
 South Asian agency for disaster
 South Asian federation games
 South Asian milk grid
 Covid – 19 emergency fund

Analyzing the performance of SAARC

SAARC is described as an organization which has grossly under performed and has
suffered from sluggish progress. In fact, SAARC is considered as one of the worst
examples of regional integration in the world. Minister of External Affairs Dr. Jaishankar
has described SAARC as a jammed vehicle.

Even though, SAARC has been able to sign Free Trade Agreements like SAPTA (1995) and
SAFTA (2004). However, such agreements have failed to transform South Asia into a free
trade area.

Presently, SAARC is suffering from stagnation. The last SAARC summit was held in 2014
in Kathmandu (18th SAARC summit). The next summit was supposed to be held in 2016 in
Islamabad, which was cancelled because of Uri and Pathankot attacks. Since then no SAARC
summit has been organized.

SAARC is no comparison to other regional organizations like EU and ASEAN. EU is

considered best example of regional integration in the developed world and ASEAN as best
in the developing world.

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Reasons for the failure of SAARC:

India- Pakistan hostilities have been one of the major reasons for paralyzing SAARC.
However, there are other structural problems also, which are listed below:

1. Origins of SAARC: Other regional organizations are formed with a view of

cooperation. Whereas, SAARC was formed with the vision to challenge regional
hegemony. Initially it was believed that SAARC will be a coalition of India‘s
neighbors to challenge India. This was also the reason for India‘s skepticism to join
SAARC. However, as years pass by, SAARC emerged as an India dominated
platform, which was also the reason for Pakistan‘s opposition to SAARC. Many argue
that Pakistan has joined SAARC just to oppose India‘s proposals.
2. Structural Asymmetry: South Asia suffers from the problem of structural
asymmetry; South Asian countries are very diverse with different political systems
and also contradictory/unequal economies. Therefore, it is difficult to have regional
integration in such an asymmetrical region
3. Lack of political stability: South Asian countries suffer from political instability
which has adversely affected the process of regional integration.
4. Identity crisis: Since they are newly formed nations, their own national identity
remains in crisis, which makes it difficult for South Asian countries to cooperate with
each other and embrace a common South Asian identity. For example Pakistan is
suffering from such a crisis and is trying hard to be recognized as part of west Asia.
Even Sri Lanka has such aspirations of being recognized as part of South East Asia. In
fact South Asia is a name looking for its place on the map.
5. South Asian economies are also more inward looking, which has been a major reason
for the failure of FTA in SAARC.
6. Small countries in SAARC have been skeptical about India as a bullying big brother.
Integration of Sikkim, formation of Bangladesh, sending IPKF mission to Sri Lanka
has strengthened India‘s image as a big brother among its neighbors. Therefore,
neighbors of India are tilting towards China to counter balance India.
7. The rule of consensus in SAARC has also been problematic and there is need to
change this rule to address deadlocks on various issues in SAARC.

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Because of all the above reasons there has been a high level of trust deficit among SAARC
countries, which has led to creation of negative mindset in SAARC.

Reasons for the failure of SAFTA

1. India- Pakistan problems have always affected India‘s trade with Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
2. Absence of connectivity‘s.
3. Presence of non-tariff barriers.
4. Economies are not complementary but competitive.
As per SAFTA agreement, South Asia should have emerged as a FTA by 2016, which has not
been the case because of above reasons. In the context of trade there has been complete
absence of a South Asian brand.

One way to infuse life in SAARC is to revive the process of South Asian economic
integration. South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world with intra-
regional trade teetering at barely 5% of total South Asian trade, compared to 25% of
intra-regional trade in the ASEAN region. While South Asian countries have signed
SAFTA, the lack of political will and trust deficit has prevented any meaningful movement.

According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, intra-ASEAN investments

constitute around 19% of the total investments in the region. The SAARC region can likewise
benefit from higher intra-SAARC investment flows. Deeper regional economic integration
will create greater interdependence with India acquiring the central role, which, in
turn, would serve India‘s strategic interests too.

Recent developments:

2022: Pakistan offered to host the long-pending summit SAARC, India refused to participate
citing that there has been no material change in the situation since 2014 and there is no
consensus that would allow the holding of the summit. It is noteworthy that SAARC works
on the principle of consensus and the summit cannot be held if even one member decides not
to attend.

2021: a meeting of foreign ministers from the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) countries, which was set to be held in New York, was cancelled.
Member states were unable to agree upon the participation of Afghanistan, with Pakistan and
India in particular at loggerheads over the issue. Pakistan objected to the participation of any

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official from the previous Ashraf Ghani administration, SAARC members reportedly agreed
to keep an ―empty chair‖ as a symbolic representation of Afghanistan. However, Islamabad
later insisted that the Taliban be allowed to send its representative to the summit, a notion
that all of the other member states rejected. After no consensus could be formed, Nepal, the
‗host‘ of the summit, officially cancelled the meeting.

2020: first ever video – conference of SAARC heads was held to discuss the way forward to
fight the coronavirus pandemic. During the meeting, Mr. Modi proposed a COVID-19
emergency fund. India announced that it will contribute $10-million to the proposed
fund. Significantly, India signaled that it is willing to put politics aside when dealing with the
pandemic that confronts all.

However, sadly Pakistan again made its concerns over Jammu and Kashmir a sticking point
in re-engagement. PM Imran Khan‘s absence from the meeting and his nominee‘s (Zafar
Mirza) attempt to raise the issue of restrictions in Kashmir indicate that obstructionist
attitude persists.

Clearly, reviving the SAARC initiative will not be easy, given poor ties between
SAARC‘s two largest members, India and Pakistan.

Future and revival of SAARC

Given the present state of relations between India-Pakistan, future of SAARC does not appear
very bright; one can see no light at the end of tunnel.

According to Dr. Jaishanker “Ours is not just a story of missed opportunities but also of
deliberate obstacles, elimination of terrorism is a precondition not only for fruitful
cooperation but also for the very survival of the region itself”.

Because of the failures of SAARC we see a new approach emerging. The new approach is
SAARC minus Pakistan. The launch of South Asian satellite has followed SAARC minus
Pakistan model. Moreover, India is trying to develop BIMSTEC as a new alternative to
SAARC. According to Dr. Jaishankar, ―India sees energy, mindset and possibility in the
BIMSTEC.‖

India has also started concentrating on other sub regional initiatives like BBIN corridor
(SAARC minus Pakistan). BBIN has been signed after a failure of similar motor vehicle
arrangement at SAARC summit of 2014. Therefore revival of SAARC is a distant possibility

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in the context of changing approach of India. Failures of SAARC are much more pronounced
and there is little to hope for.

However, many experts have argued that revival of SAARC is much needed for the sake of
economic integration, connectivity, security cooperation and to fight against common
challenges like environmental degradation, COVID, fulfilling SDG‘S etc. Revival of
SAARC can also play a major role in creating South Asia as a zone of peace and stability.
Moreover, it can also help India maintain its leadership role in South Asia and counter
growing presence of China in its own backyard. Smaller countries of South Asia like
Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal have repeatedly expressed their desire to revive SAARC.

Way forward:

It remains to be seen whether New Delhi changes its approach towards SAARC, however,
India‘s approach will always be hinged on its relationship with Pakistan. New Delhi needs
to be pragmatic and flexible in order to revive the SAARC platform.

Moreover if Islamabad is serious about SAARC, then it should move beyond bilateral issues
and instead seriously push for regional connectivity and economic integration. Pakistan
should stop playing an obstructionist role.

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 BIMSTEC

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States. This sub-regional
organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It
constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and
Thailand. In the year 2014 BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The regional group constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia and represents
a reinforcement of relations among these countries. BIMSTEC has also established a
platform for intra-regional cooperation between SAARC and ASEAN members.

The founding principles of BIMSTEC are as under:

 Cooperation within BIMSTEC will be based on respect for the principle of sovereign
equality, territorial integrity, political independence, no-interference in internal
affairs, peaceful co- existence and mutual benefit (akin to panchsheel principles).
 Cooperation within BIMSTEC will constitute an addition to and not be a substitute
for bilateral, regional or multilateral cooperation involving the Member States.

BIMSTEC has fourteen areas of cooperation which are listed below:

1. Trade and investment

2. Transport and Communication

3. Energy

4. Tourism

5. Technology

6. Fisheries

7. Agriculture

8. Public health

9. Poverty alleviation

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10. Counter terrorism and Trans-national crime

11. Environment and Disaster Management

12. People to people contacts

13. Cultural cooperation

14. Climate change

Fourth BIMSTEC Summit was held in 2018 in Kathmandu. Following are the major
outcomes:

 BIMSTEC decided to work on a draft charter. So far the organization has been
working on the basis of Bangkok Declaration. Consequently, in 2021, BIMSTEC
Secretariat has finalized BIMSTEC charter after 23 years of its inception.

Charter is expected to define a long-term vision and priorities for cooperation.

It would clearly delineate roles and responsibilities of different layers of
institutional structure and define decision-making processes.

 A permanent working committee will be setup to provide direction during the

period between summits.

 The Secretariat has been promised additional finance and human resources and
enhancement of its role, to coordinate, monitor and facilitate grouping activities.

 A Bold decision has been taken to establish BIMSTEC development fund.

 Efforts will be made to increase BIMSTEC visibility and stature in international

world.

PANEX:

PANEX is a tri – services Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Exercise for BIMSTEC
Member states. 3rd edition of this exercise was organized by the Southern Command of the
Indian Army.

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 INDIA and BIMSTEC

In recent times, India‘s foreign policy has undergone an eastward shift. In this context
BIMSTEC has emerged as an important sub-regional grouping for India. In the last few
years, India‘s engagement with BIMSTEC has been quiet robust.

 In the year 2016, India hosted a BRICS- BIMSTEC outreach summit.

 In the year 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Kathmandu
summit and described BIMSTEC as a meeting point of India‘s neighborhood first
policy and Act east policy.
 In the year 2019, BIMSTEC leaders were invited for the oath taking ceremony of the
prime minister, which reflects India‘s shift from SAARC to BIMSTEC.

According to Dr. Jaishankar, ―there is energy, mindset, possibility in BIMSTEC which fits
with India‘s optimistic vision for economic cooperation.‖

Thus, attention has been consciously shifted from SAARC to BIMSTEC, thereby giving an
eastward shift to India‘s neighborhood policy. BIMSTEC grouping has gradually emerged as
a key vehicle to take forward India‘s regional, strategic and economic interest.

Following are the reasons for India‘s interest in BIMSTEC:

1. Stagnation of SAARC which has limited the scope of India‘s growing economic
aspirations. SAARC has failed to ensure regional integration, for example SAARC
motor vehicle agreement. This has compelled India to sign BBIN. According to PM
Modi, ―regional integration in South Asia would go ahead through SAARC or
outside it; among all of us or some of us.‖

2. India is attempting to position BIMSTEC as an alternative to SAARC in order to

isolate Pakistan.

3. India‘s desire is to link South Asia to the economically dynamic South East Asia.

4. To reassure South Asia that the region can work together to achieve common goals
with India playing its due role.

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However, BIMSTEC has also been facing challenges which can affect performance of
BIMSTEC. Following are the challenges:

 India is currently largest contributor to BIMSTEC secretariat budget. India‘s

contribution was Rs 25 cr in 2021. To make BIMSTEC more robust India will have
to consider allocating more resources. India‘s generosity would be a key test of its
commitment to the sub-regional grouping.
 India must counter impressions that BIMSTEC is an India dominated block.
Otherwise small members of BIMSTEC will also experience SAARC like
insecurities. Therefore, India will need to show sensitivity towards concerns of
smaller neighbors in BIMSTEC.
 With respect to China, India will have to carefully navigate through the emerging
regional geo-politics in BIMSTEC. Also as a part of its BRI project China has been
making aggressive investment in BIMSTEC countries except Bhutan.
 BIMSTEC performance has also been modest. It has organized only four summits
since 1997.
 In order to fulfill India‘s interest, India will also have to consider including Maldives
into BIMSTEC, at least as an observer member.
 Smaller countries in BIMSTEC may not agree with India‘s vision to replace SAARC
with BIMSTEC.

Therefore there are still challenges which India will face in order to position BIMSTEC
in place of SAARC. However, there is hope after the fourth summit, which was able to
articulate a vision for Bay of Bengal region heading towards a peaceful, prosperous and
sustainable future.

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