Revival of SAARC: Assumption or Reality?

Numra Ilyas

South Asia is home to 2.08 billion people, approximately 25.33% of the world’s population, making up one quarter of the globe, and one of the poorest regions in the world. In 2022, the poverty rate in South Asia stood at 78.80%, approximately 42% of the world’s population. The unemployment rate in 2023 was 4.5332%. The population of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan makes up 24% of the world’s population.

The last SAARC summit was held in 2014, and since then, the organization has remained dormant amid regional tensions.

Despite these facts, the region is not integrated. For this purpose, an intergovernmental organization South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), was established to promote social, economic, and diplomatic relations among the member states. However, the organization SAARC remains dysfunctional on its 40^th anniversary. The revival efforts for SAARC face several obstacles, raising the question: Is revival possible, or is it merely an assumption?

The idea of SAARC was first initiated by Bangladesh’s president, Zia-ur-Rehman, in 1980 when he wrote letters to other governments. As a result, meetings of foreign ministers were conducted in Colombo in 1981 and New Delhi in 1983. The first summit of SAARC was held on 7-8 December 1985 in Dhaka, and the Charter of SAARC was adopted on December 8, 1985. The first summit promoted mutual understanding and trust among the member states. The founding principles of SAARC include territorial sovereignty, mutual benefit, non-interference in the affairs of other states, political independence, and sovereign equality. Consensus-based decisions are taken in SAARC, and bilateral and contentious issues are not discussed in its meetings. It is an organization of interconnected regions sharing several commonalities, including history and culture.

The SAARC aims to boost economic growth, social progress, and cultural development. The objectives of SAARC include promoting the welfare of people and improving the quality of life, promoting and strengthening collective self-reliance, contributing to mutual trust, promoting active collaboration, mutual assistance in economic, social, and cultural fields, strengthening cooperation with other states and international organizations. SAARC is composed of 8 South Asian nations, namely Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.

The revival of SAARC seems an assumption for several reasons. First, the SAARC summits have been cancelled eleven times. It has been 10 years since the last summit of SAARC held in Nepal in 2014. India refused to attend the 19^th summit of SAARC, which was supposed to be held in November 2016 in Islamabad following the Uri attacks in September 2016. Following the immense pressure from India, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Bangladesh also refused to attend the summit, resulting in complete dysfunctionality of the organization.

Second, the failure of SAARC is also attributed to the inclination of member states towards other regional organizations such as BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation) and IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), both formed in 1997. The BIMSTEC comprises five South Asian India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri-Lanka and two Southeast Asian states, Thailand and Myanmar.

Intra-regional trade among SAARC nations remains a mere 5%, reflecting deep structural and political challenges.

Third, the weak organizational structure of SAARC also impedes its revival, with the Secretariat working as a coordinator rather than a decision-making body. The failure of SAARC bodies to work in the political domain, the exclusion of political discussions, and the inability to resolve bilateral issues. Fourth, a lack of trust persists among the member states, making cooperation in SAARC a distant dream. For example, Pakistan resisted the Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) and the SAARC Satellite Project.

Fifth, there is less intra-regional trade and a lack of economic complementarity among the SAARC states. The intra-regional trade remains at 5%. The South Asian Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) was formed in 1995 but failed to achieve its goals.  There is also under-utilization of resources such as the SAARC Development Fund (SDF), formed in 2010 as a financial institution of SAARC for poverty elimination lacks funding.

Lastly, the unresolved core issues between the member states and the failure to address regional security issues, such as terrorism. The Kashmir, Siachen, and Sir Creek issue between India and Pakistan, the Tamil issue between Sri Lanka and India, and the Testa River dispute between India and Bangladesh hinder negotiations.

However, despite all these reasons, cooperation in SAARC is also possible. First, SAARC remains relevant due to socio-economic reasons such as a large market size and a huge population. The youth and emerging economies, the agricultural dominance, educational advancements, richness in natural resources, tourism potential, and shared crises such as climate change all make cooperation in SAARC a viable option.

Secondly, learning from EU and ASEAN and fostering peaceful relations and changing the institutional framework for efficient decision making and policy implementation can make cooperation a possibility. Resolving bilateral issues by negotiations and adopting a strong political will are one of the major lessons from both organizations.

Several other options can also be considered for conducting the next SAARC summit and normalizing the relations among the SAARC member states. First, a virtual summit can be conducted. Second, learning from the India-Pakistan cricket example, a neutral venue can be selected for the summit. Moreover, the SAARC Art and Culture Festival can bring nations together. Establishing mediation mechanisms, engaging civil society and youth through the SAARCCSO and SAARC Youth Exchange Program, can also make collaboration in SAARC a possibility.

Reviving SAARC demands political will, economic integration, people-to-people ties, and innovative diplomatic initiatives like virtual summits and neutral venues.

In conclusion, the absence of SAARC has resulted in creating an irreplaceable vacuum in the region. And it can be empowered again by increasing people-to-people communication and development in commerce. SAARC should focus on advancing cooperation, dispelling the lack of trust, and eliminating regional poverty through economic integration. Other choices for revival include strengthening political will, adopting Confidence Building Measures and Track-2 diplomacy, and regularly conducting high-level dialogue.

The author is a Bachelor's in International Relations student at the University of Sargodha with a profound interest in South Asian affairs and Strategic Studies.