At a time the political situation is going bad to worse in occupied Kashmir and India is blaming Pakistan for the chaos, the finance ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation have decided to establish South Asian Economic Union. Saarc was established in mid 80s to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region. However, the forum has so far failed to achieve its minimum goals due to stubbornness of India which has adopted a policy to reserve its seat in the forum to ward off the entry of China in it. However, it is good omen that most of the finance ministers agreed to implement the decisions made by the member states to realise the goals of Saarc charter, including operationalization of the agreements on trade and services and finalization of a schedule to fulfill the specific commitments. The ministers also decided to finalise the agreements among the Saarc members state to promote and protect investments in each other’s countries.
Earlier, the Indian finance minister refused to attend the Saarc moot for absurd reasons. This has not only affected the general discussions and scope of this vital forum, but also lost an opportunity for meaningful dialogues between the two countries. However, the ministers, who attended the moot, discussed issues pertaining to the avoidance of double taxation and mutual administrative assistance in tax matters. The minister stressed the need for harmonisation of the customs procedures and documentations to pave the way for movement of goods across the borders without any impediments. There is a need to construct economic corridors in the member states to improve connectivity in the region. There is also need to sign agreements to facilitate trade through land, sea and air routes. The ministers also decided to operationalise economic and infrastructure windows of Saarc Development Fund and enhance intra-regional investment to improve coordination and cooperation between the member states.
It is unfortunate that Saarc could not achieve minimum goals 30 years after its establishment. The leadership of the member countries has changed over and over again, but no member state could take proactive approach to operationalize the forum. There are various grey areas where the member states can work without taking into consideration political expediencies. The countries can work on easing non-tariff and para tariff barriers, can take measures to enhance regional trade and investment as well as can reduce the number of products in sensitive lists. Pakistan needs to bring China in the Saarc forum to neutralize the adverse effects of India which wants to keep it in low profile.
