{"id":120627,"date":"2021-11-25T00:04:15","date_gmt":"2021-11-25T06:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=120627"},"modified":"2021-11-24T17:01:57","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T00:01:57","slug":"sri-lanka-can-play-a-significant-role-in-reviving-the-saarc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/11\/25\/sri-lanka-can-play-a-significant-role-in-reviving-the-saarc\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka Can Play A Significant Role In Reviving The SAARC"},"content":{"rendered":"

MD Pathik Hasan<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

South Asia needs in reviving SAARC for\nvarious reasons.  Covid-19 pandemic\nremembered this reality again. South Asian countries should stand together to\ntackle some common Regional problems. SAARC is that platform. But SAARC is\nsleepy now. Thus, SAARC should be revived as a regional platform. A dedicated\npartner\u2019s role is very needed in this connection. It is Sri Lanka that can play\na significant role in reviving the SAARC. Sri Lanka is the only South Asian Country\nwhich has very good relations with the other countries in South Asia. The ties\namongst Sri Lanka and other stakeholders in the region are well known. As an\nactive member in the SAARC, Sri Lanka should play an important role to revive\nthe dead alike SAARC. The journey of the South Asian Association for Regional\nCooperation (SAARC) began in 1985 when India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal,\nBhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives formed the platform. In 2007, Afghanistan\njoined SAARC. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are island states while Nepal, Bhutan\nand Afghanistan are landlocked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Sri Lanka can play to revive the SAARC\nthis time, Sri Lanka would benefit from it. A free trade of zone could be created\nin the region. As a regional country, Sri Lanka could benefit by reaping that\npotentials. On the other hands, the Prestige of Sri Lanka would increase in the\nregion to some extent international arena. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realizing the unprecedented progress the\nworld\u2019s other regions have made, it was felt the same development is possible\nif communication and cooperation within this region can be increased to the\ndesired level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU, ASEAN, GCC and other regional blocs\nhave achieved prosperity by joining regional alliances. Their citizens\nexcluding some member states are not required to obtain visas if they wish to\ntravel from one allied country to another. They can travel from one country to\nanother by road, rail, sea or air without hindrance. These alliances give more\nimportance to regional trade.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After SAARC came up, it was hoped that\ncitizens of one country would be able to travel to another without a visa. One\ncountry would provide transit facilities to another country as required. But\nthat goal has not yet been achieved. And the prospect of achieving that in the\nnear future is not very bright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main objective of establishing SAARC\nwas to make the region one of the most prosperous in the world by enhancing\nregional connectivity and cooperation. But almost 30 years later, it is clear\nthat there is still a long way to go. So all countries including Sri Lanka\nshould consider this carefully. As a responsible regional Stakeholder in the\nregion, Sri Lanka should play a role to revive the SAARC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many privileges, opportunities in\ncase of revival of SAARC for all member states in the sector of free trade,\ntackling Covid-19,  cooperation of counter-terrorism,\ncultural exchange, public diplomacy, cricket diplomacy, removal of visa\nrestrictions, robust connectivity etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India is the largest of SAARC countries in\nsize and population. The second place belongs to Pakistan. Before SAARC, India\nand Pakistan had waged three wars. Bangladesh was born in 1971 out of Pakistan.\nPerhaps, this background has blocked the region from moving ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capitalizing available resources <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAARC is home to more than a quarter of the\nworld\u2019s population. In recent times, the countries of the region have made\ngreat strides in agriculture. While industrial development is promising, there\nis a need to harness the potential for further development. The scope of\nregional trade within SAARC is limited. If this is expanded, SAARC member\nstates will achieve unprecedented development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nepal and Bhutan are bounded on the east,\nwest and south by India. Although the two are bordered by China on the north,\ntheir entire border is rugged. So, communication in that direction is\nimpenetrable. Nepal and Bhutan are dependent on India for foreign trade.\nAlthough these two have long demanded transit facilities from SAARC through\nChittagong and Mongla in Bangladesh, the slow pace of implementation has\ntarnished SAARC\u2019s spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seven states of northeastern India are\ncalled Seven Sisters\u201d. They maintain communication with the Indian mainland\nthrough a narrow route called the Chicken\u2019s Neck. Communication through this\nroute is time-consuming and expensive. India is interested in establishing\ntransit by road, rail and waterways with these seven states through Bangladesh.\nAlthough the transit is open by water, it is not fruitful through the year due\nto the low navigability of the rivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh is on its way to developing the\ninfrastructure required for transit by road and rail. It would like to be a\ntransit hub between South Asia and South-East Asia. Dhaka is focusing on\nregional connectivity. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has always urged regional\ncountries to be connected.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediate concerns <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A platform like SAARC is needed to address\nproblems like the Afghanistan crisis. But SAARC is inactive due to the\nIndia-Pakistan dispute. Pakistan and India should work together to revive SAARC\nto maximize regional interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, 54 common rivers through India\nflow into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh. By unilaterally withdrawing\nwater from most rivers upstream, India is using it to maintain the navigability\nof inland rivers, including hydropower generation and irrigation. Bangladesh\nhas faced an unfavourable situation due to this. New Delhi should work with\nBangladesh for better regional benefits. India should complete a fair Teesta\nagreement with Bangladesh soon. As a big fish, it has some accountability\ntowards others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Bangladesh\u2019s perspective, India has\nalways shown a disdainful attitude towards other SAARC members. Due to this \u2013\namong other reasons \u2013 SAARC is failing to reach its goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although India has road and rail links with\nBangladesh and Pakistan, trade is conducted through transhipment due to lack of\ntransit facilities. Communication is not very easy as the citizens of these\nthree countries need a visa to communicate. At present, trade between Nepal and\nBhutan with Bangladesh is handled through transhipment in the absence of\ntransit. As a result, the import and export expenditure of both is\nincreasing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

India\u2019s economy is growing rapidly.\nBangladesh\u2019s economy is also booming. The economies of all other countries in\nSouth Asia are also developing. For regional cooperation, the following\nprovisions should be introduced: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Transit facilities between SAARC\ncountries are opened<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Visa system must be abolished<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Currency of one country must be easily\nexchanged in another country or a common currency must be introduced<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Travel facility from one country to\nanother in a private car should star<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Flow of electricity, gas, oil and water\nfrom one country to another must be made easily available<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Same SIM card must be used to talk from\none country to another easily and cheaply<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Scope for trade is maximized <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This requires SAARC countries to show the\nhighest level of friendship and harmony towards each other and to make the best\nuse of opportunities and cooperation. All member states specially Sri Lanka must\nplay a role to revive SAARC as a regional cooperation platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MD Pathik Hasan South Asia needs in reviving SAARC for various reasons.  Covid-19 pandemic remembered this reality again. South Asian countries should stand together to tackle some common Regional problems. SAARC is that platform. But SAARC is sleepy now. Thus, SAARC should be revived as a regional platform. A dedicated partner\u2019s role is very needed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-md-pathik-hasan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}