The Hindu : National : See India as an opportunity, says Saran

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 11, 2005

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See India as an opportunity, says Saran

Special Correspondent

"If we want to see South Asia becoming a power house, which we all want, there needs to be inter-connectivity''

LET'S WORK TOGETHER: Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan (left) with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran at a seminar on the 13th SAARC summit in New Delhi on Saturday. — Photo: PTI

NEW DELHI: Observing that the success of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) coming into effect from January 1, 2006, depended largely on putting in place adequate intra-regional infrastructure by member-nations, India on Saturday asked its neighbours to see it [India] as an "opportunity" and "not a threat." It emphasised the need for South Asian countries to integrate and work together despite "political divisions" to exploit the economic complementarities for the overall benefit of the region.

At a seminar on "13th SAARC summit: the road ahead," Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran underlined the need for establishing inter-connectivity among the countries of the region, including restoration of severed links of India with Pakistan and Bangladesh to reap the benefits of SAFTA.

Envoys of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka agreed that SAFTA would provide a significant platform for economic cooperation among the countries of the region. While asking India's neighbours to shed their fears, Mr. Saran acknowledged that the asymmetry of India's size as compared to other countries of the region gave rise to "anxiety" and "apprehensions" but reminded them that in today's world, regional association was important and as such, India should be seen as an opportunity and not a threat.

"If we want to see South Asia becoming a power house, which we all want, there needs to be inter-connectivity. Unless there is inter-connectivity within the region, connectivity with the world will not bear much benefits," the Foreign Secretary said emphasising that integration within South Asia was essential if the region wanted to benefit from globalisation.

Mr. Saran referred to India's linkages with Pakistan and Bangladesh, which existed before Partition and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. "We have not been able to regain and re-establish all of these old links."

Noting that tremendous economic complementarities existed in South Asia, Mr. Saran said the "limited opening" with Pakistan lately had demonstrated the huge demand for trade and commerce. Mentioning in particular the success of the Pakistan Trade Fair in Amritsar recently, he called for the two countries to hold more such events as "the region had great advantages; it was geographically compact; and it had a shared history, obvious cultural affinities and shared legacy."

The South Asian countries, he said "should build upon these assets which join us even while political divisions remain. Nobody is trying to erase these political divisions. These political divisions, over a period of time, can become less and less relevant."

Mr. Saran said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf held a similar vision as they talked about making boundaries irrelevant.

"The future of South Asia lies in advancing that goal," he said and added that for a "true South Asian Union" the countries of the region needed to pool their comparative advantages for the overall benefit of the region.

Pakistan High Commissioner in India Aziz Ahmed Khan did not agree with the comparison of the SAARC forum to ASEAN or the European Union in terms of achievements, as peculiar circumstances surrounded SAARC.

Issues such as India's size and problems between member-countries affected the functioning of the South Asian forum and inhibited its growth, he said adding that the economic relations between India and Pakistan had not been good for "obvious reasons of political differences."

However, with the movement towards resolution of these differences, there was improvement in economic relations as well, the Pakistan envoy said pointing out that bilateral trade just a year ago was $200 million which grew to $600 million this year and was projected to go up to $1 billion.

He said: "SAFTA will make a sea change. It will expand economic cooperation exponentially. With regard to inclusion of Afghanistan in SAARC, the country can become a bridge between South Asia and Central Asia, which is rich in energy resources and can fulfil energy needs of this region."

Bangladesh High Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chowdhary appreciated the proposal of Dr. Singh on connectivity made at the Dhaka summit.

"It is for all countries to see that SAFTA is operationalised by the date scheduled."

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