Saarc
Achievements
Issues
How to male saarc effective
Members
Functions
Structure
SAARC Origins and Objectives
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was
established on December 8, 1985 with its Secretariat in Kathmandu,
Nepal. All the South Asian states: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, are its founding members.
However, Afghanistan joined the group in April 2007.
SAARC Achievements
1)Safta
SAARC introduced SAFTA to boost trade between the Member States
and in December 1995, emphasizing that there was a need to
understand the “South Asian Free Zone Exchange” (SAFTA). The
contract was signed at the 12thSummit which was held in Islamabad. In
December 2005, the government of India approved SAFTA and flagged
it for its official launch on 1stJan. 2006, when it was hoped that all
participating countries would lower interest rates by the 2016 deadline.
2)South Asian Identity
The most important achievements of SAARC are to bring the members
of the states close and think about regional issues and identity. That is
based on the positive aspect of the individual state which should be
attractive for the people of the SAARC countries to emulate. It is
important not to think as a South Asian but feel proud of a South Asian
identity within the region. There is also the serious need to cooperate
and contact among the people, to improve cultural identities and break
the barriers among the people of South
3)The SAARC Food Bank
“The SAARC Food Bank”, was recognized originally to facilitate as an
emergency source for facing a crisis in shortage or a natural disaster,
floods, earthquakes, and such other issues. In the 14th summit at
Islamabad, signed the channel to accept a mutual attitude to unite “food
security” for the people of South Asia and then the formal development
and procedure for strategies must plan ahead to provide a functional
character
4) SAARC Development Fund
SAARC Development Fund was recognized by the eight SAARC
Members in 2010. SDF was objective“to promote the welfare for the
people of the South Asian region; to improve their quality of life,
economic growth, social progress and poverty”. It is also one of the
achievements of the Regional Association for the safety, progress and
prosperity for the people of South Asia
5)South Asian University
The South Asian University is another achievement by the members’
state. it is an international university established in 2010 by the SAARC
desk. At this time University is offering postgraduate and doctoral
programs in several disciplines.
Aims and Objectives of SAARC
The objectives of the association as defined in the SAARC Charter are:
.To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries
of South Asia;
.To contribute to develop mutual trust, understanding and
appreciation of one another’s problem;
• To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the
economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;
• To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
• To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international
forums on matters of common interest; and
• To cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar
aims and purposes.
SAARC’s existence, however, has enabled South Asian political
leaders to meet regularly and carry on informal discussions to
address their mutual problems. This is no mean achievement given
South Asia’s past history and low level of interaction among South Asian
countries since their independence. Informal talks among the leaders at
regularly held SAARC meetings have led to inter-elite reconciliation on
many sensitive issues, producing some noteworthy results in South
Asia.
ExampleThe
The informal talks between the Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers at
the second SAARC Summit meeting at Bangalore in November 1986 led
to the diffusion of tension between the two countries on the issue of
India’s military exercise,
example 2
Operation Brasstacks, on the Indo-Pakistan border, and the India-Sri
Lanka talks at the 1987 SAARC foreign ministers’ meeting led to their
accord on the Tamil problem. As a result of an informal meeting and
discussion between Prime Minister of India and Pakistan, Narasimha Rao
and Nawaz Sharif, at Davos (Switzerland), in 1992, the Pakistani
government took action to prevent the move of the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front (JKLF) to cross the ceasefire line in Kashmir later that
year. The Davos meeting was possible because of an earlier informal
agreement between the two leaders at the sixth SAARC Summit
meeting at Colombo in December 1991.
2)The Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement
(SAPTA) was signed in 1993 and four rounds of trade negotiations have
been concluded. With the objective of moving towards a South Asian
Economic Union (SAEU), the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area
(SAFTA) was signed during the Twelfth Summit in Islamabad in January
2004. SAFTA may enter into force by the end of the year 2006. The
Association has carried out regional studies on trade manufactures and
services,environment and poverty alleviation,safta and custom matters
Issues in saarc
There are two types of issues that are hampering saarc to play an
effective role
1)Functional issues
2)Structural issues
Structural issue
The main objectives of saarc is to deal with social and economic factors
while ignoring the political issues among the members of
saarc.However;in real sense the main conflicts among the members are
truly political nature which remain unaddress and make saarc an in
effective body
Examples of issues among members
Kashmir issue is the bone of contention between India and Pakistan.
India’s revocation of Article 370 has escalated the hostilities between
India and Pakistan.10
Functional issues
Hegemonic Policies in South Asia
Hegemony can be best understood as the political, economic, or military
predominance of one state over other states where the dominant state
enjoys influence the policies of other states because of its economic or
military superiority. So, hegemony is the capability of one state to
dictate the terms for other states.
A state would be recognized as a regional hegemon when it is the single
greatest power in that region where all other states are either weak or
have accepted its hegemony. This phenomenon is best explained by
John Mearsheimer in his book titled “The Tragedy of Great Power
Politics”; he highlighted three main factors responsible for a state’s urge
to pursue hegemony.
According to him, states opt for hegemonism because of the anarchic
nature of the international system; a state’s inbuilt quest for survival and
maximization of power; and doubts regarding the intentions of other
states. He claims that states pursuing regional hegemony are more
realist than the states aiming for global hegemony.
India is surrounded by much smaller states including Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma and so its position is
dominant geographically as being the largest state in respect of area.
Therefore, the geopolitics of South Asia denotes and supports the
desire of India to become a regional hegemon.
Chanakya has noted that “In trans-border relations, there are no
permanent friends or permanent enemies or even permanent borders.
There are only permanent interests and everything should be done to
secure these interests.”8 Landlocked neighboring states — Nepal and
Bhutan — have no choice but to accept the regional hegemony of India.
Sri Lanka is too small to challenge Indian hegemony. On the other hand,
the water system in Bangladesh and Pakistan is of Indian origin, making
them extremely dependent on India. Nepal, being a landlocked state, is
one of the most vulnerable countries because of its geographical
dependence on India.
India has always seen Nepal as its own state against China. Some
International observers have noticed Nepal, not as a “landlocked” state
but an “Indian-locked” state.9 Small island state holds considerable
Tamil population that becomes the root cause of Indian influence in Sri
Lanka because Tamils are dominant in India’s Tamil Nadu.
Historically speaking, India’s hegemony was ever stronger in the 1980s
when India carried out a three-year-long military intervention in Sri-
Lanka. India was the only state providing military aim to the Maldives in
1988 and India also carried out Nepal’s blockade for two years. So,
India’s role in this state is assertive and the reason behind this; is to
dominate South Asian politics.
Security Dilemma as a Threat to Regional Security
South Asia is one of the most underdeveloped regions of the world
because of unresolved issues between states in the region, and main
regional players have been focusing on the development of weapons
and military. Foreign policies of all the SAARC states are mainly derived
from the security issues faced by them.11
The confrontations between India and Pakistan have really restricted the
regional integration, and the platform of SAARC proves to be nothing
but a dysfunctional association of states.12 Nuclear capabilities by India
and Pakistan have massively threatened the regional security because
any nuclear exchange may destroy the whole region, leaving
implications for the global security at a larger scale.13
Reasons for failure
1)Languishing for want of Political Will
With political tensions and clashes nearby “the South Asian countries
pose a query of insecurity and challenge to the creation of South Asian
Union at balance with European Union that would permit free movement
of South Asian people; common currency economic policies which
finally will sow the seeds of harmony/peace.
Solution
In order to attain the major objectives, the SAARC would have to
progress into a complete regional entity that can promote peace in the
region. The understanding of durable peace, harmony and the future of
economic integration through SAARC association depend upon the
capability and interest of South Asian leaders to resolve domestic as
well as long-standing issues through peaceful negotiations” (Iqbal,
2006).
Kashmir Dispute
The territorial disputes over Kashmir remain the most divisive issue in
the sub-continent and a major source of bitterness because both the
states have already fought more than three wars in 1948, 1965, and
1999 over the Kashmir issue.
Frozen conflicts which, also persist on our borders, threaten regional
security and stability.
Water dispute
Besides the Kashmir problem, several other problems also escalated
tension in south Asia. “The conflict between India and Pakistan over the
distribution of water and the division of assets also created a rivalry
between the South Asian states”(Ahmar, 1982). South Asian water
problems may become a source of future intra and inter-state conflict
unless an effective and supportive mechanism is developed soon
Challenges to regional cooperation in South Asia
Trade barriers
Despite the attempts to liberalize their economies, South Asian states
maintain rigid and tight trade barriers among themselves be it tariff or
non-tariff.
Example
As of 2016, South Asia’s average tariffs were at 13.6 per cent, which are
significantly higher than the world average (6.3 per cent). In relation to
the sensitive lists, 44 per cent to 45 per cent of the imports from other
SAARC members fall under the sensitive lists of both Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka. For example, more than 39 per cent of India’s exports to the
region fall under the sensitive lists of various South Asian states
(Kathuria and Mathur 2018: 13).
Transportation is a crucial element of regional cooperation. Without
efficient and effective physical links between countries, trade becomes
an arduous and expensive process.
Geographical proximity makes transportation relatively easier. The
most evident advantage of proper physical connectivity is a significant
decrease in additional cost and expenses. Physical connectivity remains
a big obstacle for South Asian regional cooperation despite existing
railroad and road networks.
Example
There is very little movement of goods between India and
Pakistan because of historical enmity and rivalry between these two
countries.
Example 2
India and Nepal have a trade agreement allowing 22 border ports for the
movement of goods between the two states and 15 ports for transit
traffic (Rasul 2009: 12). However, out of all these, only six are being
used consistently, because India's territory is constrained to operating
only within fixed hours of the day
Example 3
Trucks from Nepal and Bhutan are allowed in India, but Nepali trucks
need to possess a license before entry, and these licenses are only valid
for three months (Rasul 2009: 18). The renewal of the licenses is
extremely time-consuming. These are some of the most common
reasons for the slowing down of regional cooperation in South Asia.
C. Lack of comparative advantage
South Asian states have been observed to prioritize extra-regional trade
over intra-regional trade. The region’s priority for trade with North
America or Europe significantly outweighs its priority for intraregional
trade. It is important to note that the exports of South Asian states to
other regions consist of relatively similar products: textile, readymade
garments, leather, and agricultural products
The outcome is that the states tend to become more competitive
against each other rather than complementary. I
Example
This is the common economic dilemma South Asia is facing. There is
conflict among Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka regarding textiles
and apparel exports, which constitute the biggest share of their
comparative advantage. Additionally, India opposes any move to
liberalize textiles and apparels under any regional agreement
D. Power asymmetry and geography
One major challenge to regional cooperation is power asymmetry
existing within a region. There is a significant power imbalance in South
Asia. This has been the cause of tension, mistrust, and a lack of
openness among states. India possesses 75 per cent of SAARC‘s
population and accounts for an estimate of 80 per cent of its GDP, while
the second and third largest states only make up 10 per cent and seven
per cent, respectively (Kher 2012: 8).example
India’s unparalleled military and economic power in the region has
heightened the apprehension and distrust among other South Asian
states. The smaller South Asian states tend to look outwards, away from
the region, to form a counterweight against India’s dominance. Another
crucial point to consider is geography. In South Asia, all countries,
except Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives, share a common border
with India. This geographical dependency affects these countries’
internal and external decision-making capabilities.
This obvious imbalance has pushed policy makers to formulate policies
and have legislative frameworks based on their country’s strategic and
political interests. Pakistan and other South Asian states have been
opposed to the hierarchical order India has been trying to project in
regional affairs. This becomes a hard gap to fill when it comes to
economic cooperation.
E. India and Pakistan relations
The relationship between Pakistan and India has been tumultuous since
the 1947 partition. There were several unsuccessful attempts to
alleviate and iron out their differences. The dispute between the two
over the Kashmir region has not only thwarted such attempts but
continue to sour their relations to this day. Three wars have already
been fought between them over the disputed territory- in 1947, 1965
and 1971
For some time after 1947, there was a sizeable amount of trade between
the two states with half of Pakistan's imports coming from India and
around two thirds of its exports going to India (Kher 2012: 6). Their
failure to address the challenges posed by security and political
issues have led to a significant deterioration of their bilateral
economic relations as well. Consequently, this tension has spilled over
to become an obstacle for effective regional cooperation.
The proliferation of terrorism, particularly Pakistan-based, has also
significantly dented the chances of forwarding economic discussions
(Dash 2008:114).
Example
India and Pakistan have constantly locked heads over pending security
and border issues. As a result, both states find it necessary to solve
these issues before advancing any kind of significant economic
agreement. These issues of security and high politics have cast a great
shadow on economic cooperation between the two states and the entire
region.
Strengths of saarc
SAARC has immense potential of regional integration through economic
cooperation and socio-cultural exchanges. Home to nearly two billion
people with extraordinary talent in the fields of information technology,
medicine, sports, arts and culture, radio and TV, Cinema, and social
media. Indian movies and Pakistani drama serials are watched, and liked
world over, unfortunately banned for each other
SAARC can have its own cricket council for the development of
sports, because five of its members play in International Cricket Council
(ICC) events: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
Another strength of SAARC lies in its land connectivity. At least six
member countries, starting from Afghanistan in the north-west, to
Pakistan-India- Nepal-Bhutan and Bangladesh are all connected by land
routes, and serve as an effective supply line for goods and services to
over 1.9 billion people. India being the largest and in the centre stands to
gain the maximum out of good connectivity within the regional
countries. India should make its own ‘SAARC Highway’ expanding its
ancient Grand Trunk (GT) Road, on the pattern of BRI built by China on
the tracks of Old Silk route.
Starting from north-western border of Afghanistan via Kabul and
Jalalabad, it should enter via Khyber Pass-Peshawar-Attock-through old
GT Road via Lahore to Amritsar-Kolkata-into Bangladesh, up to
Myanmar border. Extending it to Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim would
further engage more areas and people. In its west, it would give
connectivity with Central Asia and Europe, and in its far east, it would
connect with South East Asian states through Myanmar.
SAARC Highway can help accelerate the work on Turkmenistan-
Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. TAPI gas pipeline
project aims to bring natural gas from Gylkynish and adjacent gas fields
in Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. This is being
coordinated and facilitated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It is
going to be a 56-inch diameter, 1,680 KM long pipeline, which would
carry 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, from Turkmenistan via
Afghanistan to Pakistan, terminating at Pak-India border, from where
India will build its own pipeline to carry the approved amount of gas.
Comparisipn with asean
For instance, Intra-regional trade among the ASEAN countries is more
than 25 percent whereas SAARC’s share of intra-regional trade remains
at just 5 percent of total trade of the region, which is less than two
percent of the SAARC’s GDP. Because of this fact, the HDI ranking of
ASEAN countries is better than SAARC countries. Though, South Asia
Free Trade Area agreement envisaged trade facilitation in South Asia
through harmonization of standards, simplification and harmonization of
procedures and transit facilities, nonetheless, these are non-binding
measure. There is not much of focus on human resource capacity
building, infrastructure quality, transport, communication costs and
facilities.
Furthermore, the regional cooperation activities need to be
interlinked to increase the positive externality of cooperation. The
rate of economic growth in those ASEAN as well as European countries
are higher where the intra-regional trade volume is upwards.ASEAN as
well as European integration were the result of market consideration and
internal dynamics respectively, conversely, SAARC countries, for
successful integration, should adopt gradual and pragmatic sequencing
involving modest steps and long term regional economic integration
vision.
Apart from this, there is a need for systematic attempt to reach out
to political parties at local, regional and national level in every South
Asian country, to create more conducive environment for
cooperation. Public mobilization for greater regional cooperation and
integration should be focused to generate political pressure on
respective governments to cooperate. Another aspect to be tackled is
fragmented character of decision making structure, bureaucratic control
and prolonged policy making processes of South Asian governments at
national and regional level, which makes implementation of any policy
cumbersome.
Why has SAARC not been successful in forging better and more
meaningful relations with one another? Unlike the European Union, or
ASEAN, members of SAARC are not equal partners because of the
unequal size of their economies. Political tensions between India and
Pakistan are another reason for the organisation not being successful.
The third reason is that member countries look at trade agreements with
a myopic outlook and narrow national interests. Pakistan has still not
granted India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status due to domestic
compulsions. Intra-regional trade in goods in the SAARC region remains
around five percent and, in services, barely 0.2 percent against 26
percent in ASEAN. The fourth reason could be attributed to lack of
connectivity between different SAARC countries. India’s trade with
Afghanistan is hampered because of the prevailing tensions between
India and Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan’s trade with Bangladesh and
Nepal depends on its good relations with India. The lack of security and
terrorist threats in most SAARC countries are more hindrances.
If the above concerns are to be surmounted, India should play a pivotal
role by removing the perceived mistrust and sense of insecurity among
the member nations. First and foremost, it needs to focus on improving
bilateral ties with Pakistan for better cooperation and trade between the
two countries, which can bring prosperity to the people on both sides of
the divide. Pakistan, on the other hand, should grant MNF status to India
and improve road and rail connectivity between India, Pakistan and
Afghanistan for the movement of goods between these three countries.
Both India and Pakistan can play a significant role in combating
terrorism. They can also play a pivotal role in improving the economies
of smaller countries like the Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal by increasing
imports from these countries, by investing in their infrastructural
facilities and improving trade between all SAARC countries. The
cooperation between members will give a fillip to SAARC to help it
realise its objective of giving every individual the “opportunity to live in
dignity and to realise their full potential”. SAARC can also play a pivotal
role in encouraging collaboration in the fields of economics, culture,
technology and science. However, all this is possible only when India
and Pakistan improve their bilateral relations, a sine qua non for the
success of SAARC.
The differences between ASEAN and SAARC
1)the strong economic integration has provided ASEAN countries
combined negotiation strength and better buffers to withstand
international trade disputes.
Stark differences however between ASEAN and SAARC become very
visible once we look closely at their trade figures. While intra-SAARC
trade stands at 5.6%, intra-ASEAN trade is nearly seven times more at
36.3%. Additionally, while nearly 60% of SAARCs trade depend upon
countries outside of Asia, ASEAN relies on around 42% of its trade with
the rest of the world. This close intra-regional trade ties in ASEAN allows
it to mitigate the current wave of protectionism by reducing its
dependence on developed nations outside ASEAN. Despite being more
integrated to the global value chains than their SAARC counterparts, the
strong economic integration has provided ASEAN countries combined
negotiation strength and better buffers to withstand international trade
disputes.
Though multiple reasons (such as similar trade basket, low per-capita
income and history of wars) could be seen as reasons for the low
integration of SAARC, the fact remains that the true potential of
economic integration of SAARC has been limited due to geo-political
considerations and hostility between some countries. It is here that
SAARC could take a leaf out of ASEAN’s book in trying to create better
intergovernmental ties. They could do this by focusing on three key
measures.
Issues and solutions
Why has SAARC not been successful in forging better and more
meaningful relations with one another? 1)Unlike the European Union,
or ASEAN, members of SAARC are not equal partners because of the
unequal size of their economies. 2)
Political tensions between India and Pakistan are another reason for
the organisation not being successful. 3)The third reason is that
member countries look at trade agreements with a myopic outlook
and narrow national interests.
Example
Pakistan has still not granted India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN)
status due to domestic compulsions. Intra-regional trade in goods in the
SAARC region remains around five percent and, in services, barely 0.2
percent against 26 percent in ASEAN.
4)The fourth reason could be attributed to lack of connectivity
between different SAARC countries. Example
India’s trade with Afghanistan is hampered because of the prevailing
tensions between India and Pakistan. Example 2
Similarly, Pakistan’s trade with Bangladesh and Nepal depends on its
good relations with India. The lack of security and terrorist threats in
most SAARC countries are more hindrances.
If the above concerns are to be surmounted, India should play a pivotal
role by removing the perceived mistrust and sense of insecurity among
the member nations. 1)First and foremost, it needs to focus on
improving bilateral ties with Pakistan for better cooperation and trade
between the two countries, which can bring prosperity to the people on
both sides of the divide. Pakistan, on the other hand, should grant MNF
status to India and improve road and rail connectivity between India,
Pakistan and Afghanistan for the movement of goods between these
three countries. Both India and Pakistan can play a significant role in
combating terrorism. They can also play a pivotal role in improving the
economies of smaller countries like the Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal by
increasing imports from these countries, by investing in their
infrastructural facilities and improving trade between all SAARC
countries. The cooperation between members will give a fillip to SAARC
to help it realise its objective of giving every individual the “opportunity
to live in dignity and to realise their full potential”. SAARC can also play a
pivotal role in encouraging collaboration in the fields of economics,
culture, technology and science. However, all this is possible only when
India and Pakistan improve their bilateral relations, a sine qua non for the
success of SAARC.
How to make saarc effective
Learning lessons from asean
Common concerns of international trade regime
Firstly, the ASEAN countries came together to withstand the onslaught
of communist influence in the region in the early 1960s. Though SAARC
does not have a threat of that magnitude, the fact remains that all the
countries are being negatively affected due to the changes brought
about in the international trade regime. This is going to negatively affect
their economies and disrupt the development in their countries. Hence,
this should be used as a common point for all SAARC countries to unite.
Regional tensions
Secondly, the geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan are key
reason why integration has been low. When ASEAN started Malaysia and
Philippines were also locked in a dispute over Sabah. Despite these
apparent differences, both the countries did not take the entire ASEAN
forum as hostage for their personal dispute. Similarly, India and Pakistan
have to side-line their differences over Kashmir as a bilateral issue and
continue the negotiations within the SAARC framework. This along with
stopping unnecessary delays would also increase the faith that other
SAARC countries have about the organisation.
The glaring absence of a meeting in four years
Finally, nearly 50 years post the creation of ASEAN, the member
countries have met between 33 times since its incorporation in 1967,
with heads of the states meeting at least once a year. These continuous
meetings have helped iron out differences on multiple issues.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this piece, the SAARC heads of
states have not met even once in the last four years because of
contentious issues between India and Pakistan. Since economic and
regional integration is a political decision as much as an economic
decision, conducting regular meetings and discussions between
negotiators and the various heads of states would help in addressing
this issue.
These arrangements would help all countries involved in the
intergovernmental organisation hedge the risks associated with the
ensuing international trade wars. While nearly 60% of SAARC trade is
dependent on the rest of the world, member countries should come
together and make more economically rational decisions. This
heightened integration would increase trade within the region, give
better negotiation strength at international forums, and could potentially
help these countries manage the current trade war, along with helping
them cope with a changing international trade regime more efficiently.
Solutions
1)Above all, to make SAARC more relevant, it has to act as a
platform for economic integration for the region by easing the
business and trade environment and improving infrastructure for better
connectivity.
Service trade between SAARC nations is a huge potential area for
economic cooperation. But strict visa regimes make movement of
people in the region a cumbersome affair. Though deals to hasten
service trade among member states, such as the SAARC Agreement on
Trade in Services (SATIS), have been enforced since 2012, SAARC
leaders need to intensify effort toward effective implementation. In the
recent summit India took some good steps (though outside the SATIS
ambit) like the SAARC Business Traveler Card that grants visa for 3-5
years to SAARC countries.
2)An additional urgent requirement is addressing infrastructural
bottlenecks. As per the World Bank, South Asia will need an
investment of a whopping $2.5 trillion to close its infrastructure deficit.
Most of Modi’s speech during the SAARC summit emphasized
connectivity and infrastructure. New Delhi has already announced a
credit line of $1 billion to Nepal.
However, the gap is too big for India alone to cover. The region will need
external investors. China is an obvious choice, given its record of taking
up huge infrastructural projects abroad and given the expenditures it
has already made in the region.
3)One simply cannot neglect the trade potential this region carries.
According to the World Bank, South Asia’s trade potential currently
hovers around $67 billion, almost thrice the current trade of about $23
billion. The Covid-19 crisis has given the region a new window of
opportunity for economic independency. Today, through the use of
Saarc, South Asian countries now have an opportunity to come together
to remove tariffs on medical devices, protective gear and essential
products.
4)With accelerated climate change manifesting, South Asia must
focus on a robust regional- level response to curb climate
vulnerabilities, where all nations are on the same page. If states are
constantly hostile, ecological disruption will gain more momentum and
cause damage of unprecedented nature and scale. Only a unified
narrative will help mitigate the impacts of ecological disruption.
