Cancellation of SAARC Meet

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

• SAARC is a regional inter-governmental organisation of South Asian countries.
  • It was founded in Dhaka.
  • It is headquartered at Kathmandu in Nepal.
• It has 8 members namely
  • India, 
  • Bangladesh, 
  • Bhutan, 
  • Maldives, 
  • Nepal, 
  • Pakistan,
  • Sri Lanka,
  • Afghanistan. 
    • Afghanistan joined the bloc in 2007, under its then President Hamid Karzai. 
• Observer Members
  • SAARC also includes 9 formally recognised observers including the European Union, the US, Iran and China.

Courtesy: ResearchGate

Genesis of SAARC

• After the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the security situation in South Asia rapidly deteriorated. 
• In response, the foreign ministers of the initial 7 members met in Colombo in 1981.
• At the meeting, Bangladesh proposed forming a regional association that would meet to discuss matters such as security and trade.
• While most of the countries present were in favour of the proposal, India and Pakistan were sceptical.
  • Eventually, both countries relented. 
• In 1983 in Dhaka, the 7 nations signed the Declaration on South Asian Association Regional Cooperation. 
  • With it, the official formation of SAARC was signalled. 
  • In Dec 1985, First official meeting of SAARC was held.
• At the Dhaka meeting, the member countries also launched the Integrated Program of Action.
  • It outlined the five areas of cooperation between SAARC countries, namely, 
    • Agriculture; 
    • Rural development; 
    • Telecommunications; 
    • Meteorology; and 
    • Health and population activities. 
• According to the SAARC charter, the goal of the organisation was to contribute to “mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another’s problems”.

Induction of Afghanistan

• In 2005, Afghanistan formally applied for membership to SAARC.
  • It spurred debate among SAARC members due to the following reasons.
    • the nascent status of Afghan democracy and 
    • the perception of the country as a Central Asian nation.
• The SAARC nations, pressured by Pakistan, agreed to admit Afghanistan into the bloc with the stipulation that it first hold nonpartisan general elections.
  • Afghanistan held the elections in late 2005.
• In 2007, Afghanistan became the eighth member state of SAARC.

Challenges of SAARC

• Not a regional association like EU or African Union
  • Despite its lofty ambitions, SAARC has not become a regional association in the mould of the European Union or the African Union.
• Internal Conflict
  • Its member states are plagued by internal divisions, most notably the conflict between India and Pakistan.
• Unable to Form any Comprehensive Trade Agreement
  • Till now SAARC is unable to form comprehensive trade agreements.
• Stalled proposals on different Collaborations
  •  The SAARC has not been able to meaningfully collaborate on areas such as security, energy and infrastructure.
• Indo- Pakistan strained relations
  • The 18th and last SAARC summit was held in 2014 with Pakistan scheduled to host the 19th summit in 2016.
  • However, following Islamabad’s alleged involvement in the Uri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India refused to participate. 
  • Soon after, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka also pulled out of the summit.
    • They cited 
      • fears of regional insecurity caused by Pakistan and 
      • a lack of a conducive environment for the talks. 
  • Nepal was unable to withdraw from the summit as the chairperson of SAARC was from Nepal.

Courtesy: MapsofWorld

Relevance of SAARC

• Despite these setbacks or challenges, SAARC has achieved a modicum of success.
• A Regional Discussion Platform
  • It has provided a platform for representatives from member countries to meet and discuss important issues which may have been challenging through bilateral discussions. 
  • For Example: India and Pakistan would struggle to publicly justify a meeting when tensions between the two are particularly high.
    • But representatives from both countries could come together under the banner of SAARC.
• Joint Cooperation on few issues
  • The bloc has also made some headway in signing agreements related to 
    • Climate change, 
    • Food security and 
    • Combatting the Covid-19 crisis.
  • It has the potential to do far more but that is contingent upon cooperation on key issues between member states.
• Indian Initiatives like SAARC satellite, Operation Sanjeevani, etc.
  • Although Pakistan has been reluctant to join Indian initiatives, different SAARC nations have benefitted from Gujral Doctrine of India.