Saarc summit in Thimpu

There may be, and for all the right reasons, a good number of questions about the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc). To what extent it has been able to solidify links between and among its eight member nations in the last twenty-five years of its existence is a question that will have many answers. Whether the cup has been half full or half empty, as India's Manmohan Singh would like to put it, is a matter of analysis. For now, though, there are some encouraging signs of how Saarc can move ahead from here on. Principal among the pointers to the future is the unanimity Saarc heads of government and state have reached on the issue of tackling climate change at the 16th summit of the organization in Thimpu. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clearly set the mood through her call for a Himalayan Council, on the pattern of the Arctic Council, to handle the fall-out from climate change. Understandably, her counterparts have agreed with her, which again is a sign of the seriousness with which Saarc takes the issue.
A good number of other ideas have emerged from the summit. Sheikh Hasina's call for the development of a regional power grid and harnessing renewable energy sources is one that ought to be dealt with on a priority basis. If the suggestion is to be considered a basis for further cooperation between the nations in the region, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has happily gone a step further with his view that regional cooperation should mean an opportunity for a free movement of people, goods, services and ideas. Quite pertinently, it is a shared heritage he speaks of, one he feels needs to be rediscovered. But rediscovery will in the end depend on the degree of trust and confidence the states in the region are able to bring about in their interaction with one another. A pointer to some of the issues that have kept Saarc from moving forward has come from the Maldives' Mohamed Nasheed. His reference to relations between India and Pakistan was quite a departure from the norm, seeing that Saarc has studiously avoided handling bilateral matters. But his hope that the two countries will find a way of resolving their problems could just be an indication of the changes that may soon be called for in Saarc. And Hamid Karzai's reference to terrorism, extremism, narcotics and organized crime capture the insidious nature of circumstances in a large part of the region including Afghanistan. It is in these areas that Saarc member nations must coordinate their activities.
In an increasingly inter-dependent world, more so because of the common threats countries face, as over climate-related issues, poverty and militancy, Saarc must adapt to changing needs. The feeling among many that since its inception in 1985 it has not gone beyond being a talking shop must be dispelled, through ensuring a more pro-active Saarc. And that is a job only the leaders of the eight member states can do, given an intensity of purpose on their part.