BIMSTEC Summit is this month. But what about SAARC?

With the upcoming Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIM­STEC) Summit in Kathmandu on August 30 and 31, regional coopera­tion will once again be at the center of our national discussion. Yet BIM­STEC, chiefly an economic initiative that links South Asia with South East Asia, is certainly not a forum that has so far brought any substantive gain to any of its members. In con­trast, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a much stronger institution with a clear vision for the region, at least on paper. Perhaps the new government will inject new energy in promotion of regional integration both with nearby countries as well as those in South East Asia, some of which are far more advanced than Nepal. What is missing right now is the political will to make it happen. But let us talk about SAARC here.

 

It is true that Indian Prime Minis­ter Narendra Modi at the start of his tenure tried to promote a new vision for South Asia. But the momen­tum was soon lost mainly due to the long-standing bilateral disputes between India and Pakistan. It is to be hoped that the soon-to-be-formed government of Imran Khan in Pakistan will help relaunch the stalled SAARC project.

 

Besides the obvious step of improving relations between India and Pakistan, two more things are essential if SAARC is to achieve its goal of shared prosperity and development in South Asia: capable leadership of SAARC Secre­tariat and grassroots ownership of regional integration.

 

By leadership, I am not only refer­ring to determination of national leaders to promote integration. Obviously if the heads of govern­ment of Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives make a concerted effort to reenergize the organiza­tion, perhaps Pakistan and India would have no option but to come on board. But the missing element at leadership level that I am talking about is the fact that SAARC has been run by career diplomats rather than current or former national leaders from the region. This bureaucra­cy-led leadership has many limita­tions irrespective of the goodwill, integrity and competences of the secretary generals in charge of day to day operations.

 

Imagine the unfolding dynamics if an unequivocally acclaimed pol­itician like Manmohan Singh with his impeccable integrity and proven track record of delivery were to assume leadership of SAARC Secre­tariat. One of secrets of the relative success of the European integration process is that the president of the European Commission, the power­ful executive body of the European Union, has always been a prominent politician of a member country; since 1995 all the presidents of the European Commission have been former prime ministers.

 

Having a former Head of State or Head of Executive as SAARC head would allow for more frequent inter­actions among regional leaders. Formal diplomatic channels, which are now bogging down SAARC, would be replaced by stronger per­sonal interactions, even of informal nature, among key stakeholders.

 

I remember a former diplomat of a European Union member country saying that when the prime minister of Italy wants to talk to the German Chancellor, he simply picks up the phone and connects directly with Berlin, without going through any of the formal diplomatic channels. The same could happen at South Asian level.

 

Having a prominent political leader at the helm of SAARC could inject a new dynamic in the process of regional integration: even more frequent phone calls among lead­ers under the auspices of a strong SAARC Secretary General would make a huge difference.

 

In relation to the second enabler, grassroots participation, I would focus on the role South Asian youths can play. We need stronger interactions among local youths and the SAARC Secretariat not only to promote short-term exchange programs but also longer-term cross boundaries interactions.

 

From a regional exchange pro­gram at undergraduate and grad­uate levels modeled around the famous Erasmus program being implemented by the European Union, to volunteering experiences in different countries of the region, there are many ways to involve and engage local youth. This way youths from member states will gain unique life exposures and understanding of the commonalities among South Asian citizens that are all too easily overlooked or forgotten.

 

The participating youths would turn themselves into ambassadors of a new South Asia, creating a new interest in the project of regional cooperation while also contributing to its strengthening. I guess only a strong political leadership at the SAARC Secretariat could envision and deliver on such symbolic and yet powerful initiatives.

 

More delicate issues that have stalled the process of regional inte­gration could be set aside and pave the way for novel ideas on develop­ing future generations. It is high time leaders of South Asia brainstormed about their common future and sketched out a new vision to be implemented with small, incremen­tal “win-win”. Giving the youth of the region a chance would be a great start.

 

The author is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, an NGO partnering with youths living with disabilities sim­[email protected]