Revamping SAARC

By Molla Mohammad Shaheen, Dept. of English Dhaka University
10 January 2004, 18:00 PM
The 12th SAARC summit was held in Islamabad. SAFTA, a long cherished goal, has been prioritised in this summit. If SAARC can kick off SAFTA in South Asia, it will be a bonanza to minimise poverty, boost national economies and halt informal trade in the region. South Asia has been a potential zone since the exploration era. But sadly, maximum people live here under poverty line. There are a lot of natural assets, but unutilised.

SAARC is merely a showpiece, not a dynamic catalyst to energise the economies of South Asia. It should be revamped for the welfare of all the South Asian nations.

I hope SAARC leaders will be more pragmatic for better outputs from the seven-nation bloc.