13th summit gives big boost to Saarc
Diplomats from Saarc countries and eminent members of the civil society made the observations at a roundtable on the outcome of the 13th Saarc summit in Dhaka. Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) organised the post-summit talk at its office.
BEI President Farooq Sobhan presided over the roundtable.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Foreign Affairs Advisor Reaz Rahman presented the keynote paper on the topic while Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam and immediate-past Saarc secretary general QAMA Rahim took part in the discussion.
Besides, Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri, Nepalese Ambassador Bhagirat Basnet and Sri Lankan High Commissioner Gamini Sarath Munasinghe made their observations about the summit, seen as a turning point in the regional forum that expanded its domain co-opting Afghanistan as a new member and making China and Japan observers in the grouping.
Reaz Rahman in his paper said despite various criticisms against the outcome of the 13th summit, it has been proved that Saarc is indispensable and it has no substitute for effective regional cooperation in ensuring economic progress by combating poverty and terrorism.
Admitting the fact that there is a lack of trust among the member states as well as the presence of three bombs--nuclear bomb, poverty bomb and communal bomb--in the region, he said the 13th summit made some important achievements in bringing dynamism to the forum.
He said the Saarc leaders during the retreat felt the need for more dialogue on political issues and combating terrorism, which is important for achieving desired economic goal. The leaders also stressed the need for mechanism to mobilise adequate funds as no project at regional level was implemented due to lack of fund.
Reaz said the Saarc leaders also made strong commitment to implement SAFTA from January 1 next year and gave the necessary guidelines to Committee of Experts meeting in Kathmandu on November 29 to resolve the differences relating to the umbrella agreement.
He said three regional trade-facilitation agreements relating to avoidance of double taxation, cooperation in customs administration and establishment of arbitration centre were struck, which are important for execution of the SAFTA.
The Advisor also mentioned that the ratification of the Additional Protocol designed to stop financing terrorism by member-states is a significant development toward combating the menace.
On top of all was the decision of granting membership to Afghanistan and Observer status to China and Japan--the most significant success of the summit.
Dr Debapriya said implementation of SAFTA would be the trigger to ultimate vision of establishing economic union in South Asia. He hoped that unresolved issues about sensitive list, rules of origin and revenue compensation would be resolved at the next Kathmandu meeting of Saarc expert committee in the context of political directions given by the leaders at the summit.
Ambassador QAMA Rahim said the summit leaders recognised the need for resources to implement projects at regional level and agreed to mobilise funds from outside Saarc. He, however, stressed that outside donor funds must be meant for implementation of Saarc projects, not new donors' projects.
Rahim suggested strengthening the Saarc Secretariat to implement the forum's agenda. A seven-member expert committee would be formed in next three months to make recommendation in this respect.
Mahfuz Anam said after twice postponement, the holding of the 13th summit and presence of seven South Asian leaders are itself a success. Mentioning his conversations during interviews with the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, he was convinced that both the major players of Saarc are committed to the advancement of the forum so it could deliver.
He said the Indian and the Pakistani prime ministers in their statements at the inaugural session made a number of specific suggestions for cooperation in trade, economy and social sectors, which are all encouraging.
He said the momentum has been regenerated and it is the responsibility of Bangladesh holding the chair to make Saarc move forward. It is important how much time and energy she (Khaleda Zia) as new chairperson would be able to give to steer the Saarc.
"If Bangladesh tries sincerely, I don't see any reason why we won't move," Mahfuz Anam said, adding that despite ups and downs, relevance of Saarc is indisputable.
He was critical of the host government for not holding briefing for Bangladesh media at the media centre when even the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan briefed their respective media more than once during the summit.