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Perspective of SAARC after 25 Years

Perspective of SAARC after 25 Years. Saman Kelegama Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka. SAARC Record: Not Impressive. SAARC has proved to be a slow process vulnerable to regional politics SAARC decisions are clouded by regional politics (e.g., Pakistan not offering MFN status to India)

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Perspective of SAARC after 25 Years

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  1. Perspective of SAARC after 25 Years Saman Kelegama Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka

  2. SAARC Record: Not Impressive • SAARC has proved to be a slow process vulnerable to regional politics • SAARC decisions are clouded by regional politics (e.g., Pakistan not offering MFN status to India) • SAARC decisions are not properly implemented • Majority of the South Asian people is yet to feel the impact of SAARC cooperation

  3. Member Level Problems • Nation state is evolving in the region thus an extra-national entity seems something to be reluctantly embraced • Suspicion: Fear of Indian domination prevails among the smaller nations. Smaller nations ganging up against India is also a fear • No binding commitments, thus commitments are most often not implemented

  4. Member Level Problems • “trust deficit” a major problem • Lack of commitment for regional cooperation – enthusiasm fades away after a SAARC Summit • Little involvement of the business and academia in the SAARC process • SAARC declarations: “ an exercise in competitive deception” (Muchkund Dubey)

  5. Problems of SAARC • Charter – State centric cooperation • SAARC has become a Foreign Ministry project with little interaction with other government agencies • SAARC Secretariat has limited powers to drive the organization in between Summits

  6. SAARC Organization Structure • Inter-governmental decision making structure has not kept up with global trends and South Asian demands • Heavily bureaucratic with many layers of decision making – IGG, IGEG, CEA, etc. – decision making takes time • SAARC institutions not accountable – Documentation Centre, Food Reserve, Meteorological Centre, etc. • There is no accountability

  7. Outcome of 25 Years Provides Evidence 1985-1995 – 10 years of cooperation on non-economic issues did not lead to much confidence building 1995-2005 – 10 years of SAPTA did not make a significant breakthrough, in fact, SAPTA repeated all the shortcomings seen in the Bangkok Agreement Post 2005 SAFTA characterized by a large ‘negative list’ (20% of tariff lines) and 53% of intraregional imports outside SAFTA

  8. Outcome Investment-trade nexus not properly functioning due to lack of investment liberalization – efficiency seeking industrial restructuring in the region is at a low level -- seen by low intra-industry trade Bilateral and subregional arrangements have complicated the situation for SAFTA (ASEAN did not experience such a problem before moving to AFTA) Deeper integration framework not in place– energy and transport integration at an elementary stage – connectivity poor

  9. There are some Achievements SAARC has activated a debate on regional cooperation in the second track South Asian or SAARC associations have come into operation Activated a Social Charter, Anti-Terrorism Charter, etc. India has since of late become an active participant: (a) 1. January 2008 – duty free market access to SAARC LDCs, (b) large contribution to SAARC Development Fund, etc

  10. Parallel Tracks to SAARC • Tracks: Civil society, private sector, academia – ahead of member governments in regional cooperation • These tracks (initiatives) have created a fraternity of South Asian academics, businesspersons, professionals, and others. They meet regularly even when Track I activities are dormant • Journals, Magazines (e.g.,HIMAL) – give an extra-national perspective of the region to keep people informed of regional developments • Communication between Track II and Track I is informal, ad hoc, and personalized

  11. What Can be Done ? • Restructure the SAARC Organization structure, Charter, Secretariat ? Difficult • Improve Track II and Track I interactions – can do -- based on the ASEAN Model – officials take part in Track II dialogues in non-official capacity, officials are released on sabbatical leave to work in Track II • Bring the economic agenda to the forefront

  12. Economic gains overcoming politics • SA: economics cannot dominate over political factors ? • In ASEAN economic gains managed to push political differences aside at crucial times • In the India-Sri Lanka Bilateral FTA too the economic gains for SL overcame political problems • SAARC needs to reap some economic gains -- this will assist it to move forward to deepen economic integration

  13. Vision of GEP – not impossible • GEP vision of a SAARC Economic Union is still possible • Thank you

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