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Twelfth
SAARC Summit and Beyond
Yashwant
Sinha
The
highlights of the Islamabad Summit were an agreement on the
SAFTA, the conclusion of an Additional Protocol to the SAARC
Convention on Terrorism and the signing of the Social Charter. Less
reported but equally significant was also a decision to initiate a
study on advancing the deadline for a South Asian Economic Union
from 2020 to 2015, including on a common currency. This was, in
fact, an Indian proposal, which won prompt and quick support at the
meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Although
SAARC was formed eighteen years ago, it is really in the Twelfth
Summit at Islamabad that South Asia, as a region, awakened to the
benefits of regionalism and came together with a joint economic and
social agenda to effectively help in the integration of our seven
countries. The agreements and decisions of the Summit represent a
significant and innovative breakthrough in the process of
establishing the inter-relationship between economic development
through trade and integration, ending terror and violence and the
elimination of poverty in our region. For example, the fairly quick
conclusion of SAFTA, after a period of excruciatingly long
negotiations under the SAPTA process, reflects the acceptance by all
SAARC members that South Asia constitutes a natural trading region
and that economic and commercial barriers within the region must
inevitably fall. Similarly, the conclusion of the Additional
Protocol represents a willingness on the part of SAARC countries to
substitute theological debates over the definition of terrorism with
a concrete plan of action. Likewise, the Social Charter marks the
recognition that the fundamental task confronting the region is
poverty and addressing this reality can brook no further delay.
Finally, the decision to look into the possibility of a common
currency and examine whether the goal of a South Asian Economic
Union can be advanced symbolizes the keenness of SAARC to speed up
its integration progress in the face of a globalized world.
Considering
the track record of SAARC, the remarkable results achieved have come
as a surprise to many people. It is, therefore, worthwhile to
examine how have we come this far and what is needed to keep this
process on track?
Friends, there is growing recognition of the economic benefits of
regionalism across the world. The events of September 11, 2001 and
the war against terrorism has also acted as a major cementing factor
between nations across the globe. Both these developments have
contributed to the lessening of inter-state tensions in several
parts of the world and we see the same happening in South Asia too.
At the same time, the outcome of the Islamabad Summit is, equally,
product of a slow but steady change in the ‘mindset’ of our
neighbours towards India. This change, in turn, is to a large
extent, the fruit of a conscious policy shift India has made towards
the region as well as its perseverance in advocating the virtues of
regionalism.
Let me elaborate this aspect in greater detail. How have India’s
policies evolved?
The best way to address this question is to place it in the context
of traditional stereotypes regarding India’s relations with the
neighbourhood.
What have been the most common complaints against India?
They
are :
(i) India has a ‘big brother’ approach to its neighbourhood. It
seeks hegemony and has its own version of a Monroe Doctrine for
South Asia. India is neither sensitive nor generous to its smaller
neighbours. We neglect them and instead, run after the West.
(ii) India is niggardly in its approach on economic matters. We are
unwilling to share the fruits of our prosperity and we nit-pick over
petty issues.
(iii) We have boxed ourselves into the Subcontinent and have a
‘frog in the well’ attitude.
(iv) Our approach to SAARC is negative. Ever since its inception, we
have seen it as a forum for others to gang up against us. We are
consumed by the fear that bilateral disputes will be dragged into
SAARC and are convinced that each of our neighbours is conspiring to
do so.
Friends, irrespective of whether these charges have any substance or
not, India, in the recent past, has traveled many miles to try and
address each and every one of them.
For example, the neighbourhood has been a very clear political
priority for this Government. We have, across the board and at all
levels, established close interaction with our South Asian
counterparts. I started my tenure with personal visits to each of
the SAARC countries and in the last one and a half years, have
already visited Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for a second time. Every
multilateral event has been used to strengthen these contacts and to
consolidate these relationships into personal friendships. Happily,
leaders of our neighbouring countries have also visited us on a
regular basis and a red carpet has been extended to every one of
them.
Details
of high level visits in just the last year and more will illustrate
the point I am making. From Sri Lanka, over and above numerous
private visits, the Foreign Minister visited India once, the Prime
Minister twice and the President once. The Bangladesh Foreign
Minister visited us twice. King Gyanendra and Crown Prince Paras of
Nepal, both visited us. Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa visited
us once before assumption of charge and once after assumption. From
Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck as well as Crown Prince Kesar
Namgyal Wangchuck visited India.
Lest it be felt that sensitivity to our neighbours has been
restricted only to the top echelons of power, let me point out that
we have encouraged contacts between all sections of our respective
societies, be they businessmen, journalists, scholars or the common
man. India’s initiatives to reopen road, rail and ferry links with
Pakistan; the Open Skies arrangement vis-à-vis Sri Lanka; the
optical fibre backbone across the Nepalese Terai as well as the Rail
Agreement with Nepal, the new ICD terminal at Birgunj,
hydro-electric projects in Bhutan and Nepal, the Dhaka – Agartala
bus service and proposals for ferry services between Colombo and
Kochi and Mumbai and Karachi are all initiatives specifically
designed to promote people to people contacts, trade and commercial
interaction within the region.
Secondly,
our approach towards our neighbours on economic matters has evolved
considerably. Let alone demand reciprocity in trade and other
negotiations, we are now institutionalizing positive asymmetry in
favour of our neighbours. This is the approach we have adopted in
our FTA with Sri Lanka and which we intend to continue in our
discussions on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This
is the framework we intend to use for discussions with Bangladesh on
an FTA. This is also one of the key concepts embedded in the
recently concluded SAFTA Agreement. The fact that Pakistan enjoys
MFN treatment even while it refuses to fulfill this basic minimum
obligation of international trade towards us also shows the same
logic at work. We have in fact also offered to host in India next
month a ‘Made-in-Pakistan’ exhibition to promote its exports to
our country.
Many of you would recall that the report of a Group of Eminent
Persons recommending the creation of a South Asian Economic Union by
2020 had been virtually forgotten till India decided to pick it up
and place the idea on the top of SAARC’s agenda. This move had its
share of detractors. There were voices which expressed doubt and
suspicion. Some accused this Government of being naïve in our
approach to the complex and convoluted politics in our neighbourhood.
But, clearly, adopting a bold stance has paid off. We showed the
courage to stand up and lead from the front. And, this has brought
us dividends. Not only are critics in our own country quiet, our
neighbours have also begun to see the wisdom in what we are
advocating. In fact, one of the most rewarding moments in Islamabad
was when our proposal for a study on advancing the deadline received
spontaneous support from many other SAARC members, proving the point
that they do not fear a closer integration within South Asia.
Thirdly,
nothing could be further from the truth than the allegation that our
foreign policy is trapped in a Subcontinental framework. This
Government, over the last six years, has assiduously promoted the
idea that India is a major power in the world. We have articulated
the concept of an extended neighbourhood for India which stretches
from the Suez Canal to the South China Sea and includes within it
West Asia, the Gulf, Central Asia, South East Asia, East Asia, the
Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region. We have also actively
pursued infrastructure projects and policies aimed at expanding
India’s connectivity with this extended neighbourhood. The India
– Myanmar- Thailand trilateral road project, the Open Skies policy
announced for South East Asia and the agreement to use Chabahar Port
of Iran for transit to Central Asia and Russia through Afghanistan
all stand out in the above regard.
We have also been pro-active in the building of other regional
groupings such as the Mekong - Ganga Cooperation and BIMST-EC, which
expand India’s reach beyond the Subcontinent. A few days from now,
the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and
Thailand will meet in Phuket, Thailand to welcome into BIMST-EC two
new members – Bhutan and Nepal and to sign a framework agreement
on free trade.
This agreement, along with SAFTA and India’s Free Trade Agreement
with ASEAN will together result in an unhindered economic space from
Pakistan to the Philippines. In fact, if my proposal for an
India-Pakistan-Iran Common Market finds acceptance, this economic
space will extend all the way up to Iran. It must also be noted in
this connection that the transport corridors India is creating to
the east and the west not only link India but also South Asia and
this entire region to the rest of the world. Moreover, energy
corridors that criss-cross the region are also likely to eventually
become an integral part of such an economic space.
Finally,
India’s contributions to the Twelfth SAARC Summit alone should be
more than sufficient to dispel any doubts regarding its commitment
to the SAARC process. Despite tremendous risks to his personal
security, Prime Minister Vajpayee had no hesitation whatsoever in
indicating at an early date, his readiness to attend the Summit.
During the Summit, a whole host of proposals for strengthening SAARC
was placed on the table by India. The Prime Minister proposed in his
address to the Summit a Poverty Alleviation Fund and indicated
India’s willingness to make an initial contribution of US$ 100
million for projects in SAARC countries other than India. We
advocated a regional food bank and a campaign for zero-hunger in the
region. India issued an unambiguous call for the free movement of
media persons and media products in South Asia. India also proposed
the establishment of cultural sub centers under the main SAARC
Cultural Centre in Kandy, an idea which was welcomed by all others.
Adapted
from the Seventh Dinesh Singh Memorial Lecture by Shri Yashwant
Sinha, External Affairs Minister on ‘12th SAARC Summit and
Beyond’ |
