SAARC

The scope for co-operation between the South Asian counties is enormous. The region has a potential market of 1.6 billion consumers, the largest middle class in the world, as well as a hardworking, low wage labor force. The challenge is now squarely before the SAARC countries, and if they fail to seize the opportunity and meet the challenge with courage, they will have no one to blame but themselves. Let’s hope sound judgment will prevail, and soon. SAARC—the regional association has multiple roles to play. It should not be assessed just with regard to what it has or has not done with regard to regional co-operation per se, but its importance lies for the countries individually in enhancing their national prestige, managing their bilateral relations and having a regional identity.

While trying to write the blog on a regional association—SAARC which was established twenty two years ago—one should be very clear that the answer cannot be either categorical ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. That would be a very narrow way of looking at things. For that matter any regional association in the world has a mixed bag of results—certain areas in which they have achieved success, in others failed to take off and in still other issues where new mechanisms of co-operation are being developed.