National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Friday refuted the conventional wisdom among peace activists by pointing out that an easier visa regime among the eight SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations would be the most difficult to achieve.
“What we need to build on is what unites us, such as a common university,” he said at the launch of Professor S. D. Muni's book The Emerging Dimensions of SAARC here.
Pointing out that all SAARC countries had new state structures, he felt an easier visa regime was unlikely in the near future because control over exit and entry of people gave these countries a “sense of their own being.” The relative newness of state structures was the reason why the SAARC, despite having everything going for it – shared geography, culture, history and ethnicity – was bogged down by inter-state relations.
“Oddly enough” it had achieved more outside the normal inter-governmental framework, said Mr. Menon. At the same time, he listed the many achievements— the Free Trade Agreement was quicker than anywhere else; the South Asian University would admit students within four years of being conceived and that the developmental fund is also operational. “Yet wherever you go in the SAARC, they expect much more. For me that is real progress.”
Professor Muni drew hope from the trend towards democratisation in all SAARC members. “I feel if all countries are democracies, then the leaderships will have to deliver development. For that they will have to cooperate with each other. This will give a positive push to SAARC.”
He also drew heart from the External Affairs Ministry's renewed push to the SAARC, especially during the tenures of Shyam Saran and Mr. Menon as Foreign Secretaries.
