Comment: SAARC promises regional economic integration

The decision for India, Maldives and Sri Lanka to cooperate in building maritime connectivity and for India, Bangladesh and Nepal to develop railway links will go a long way in bringing SAARC goals nearer to achievement full 25 years after the concept of South Asian cooperation was given some practical shape. Each of these components need to be expanded to cover other nations in the region. Bringing Afghanistan and Pakistan, into this process of building maritime and rail-road linkages in South Asia acquires importance, if the current initiative were not to be lost.

The success of SAARC depends on a variety of factors, both internal and external. First, there is the question of political resolve in member-nations to implement all the various declarations and decisions of SAARC summits. Differences between India and Pakistan have hampered the speedy completion of the SAARC agenda from the beginning. The inclusion of Afghanistan as a full-fledged SAARC member has brought in both opportunities as well as challenges.

Earlier the focus was on India-Pakistan differences as obstacles to progress. Now it is for Pakistan to address issues pertaining to fundamentalism and terrorism which affect the region and sort out the problems in its relations with Afghanistan. Pakistan will also have to shed its perceived security concerns related to Afghanistan and also facilitate over-land connectivity and two-way movement of goods between India and Afghanistan.