Bangladesh News

The two-day 14th Saarc Summit, which kicks off in New Delhi Tuesday, is expected to be a “landmark” event seeing the inclusion of Afghanistan as new member in the regional grouping and the presence of the US, EU, China, Japan and South Korea as observers, first time in its 22-year history.
Officials said the presence of the five major economies from outside the region would extend the appeal of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) to the larger international community as it enhances their interest in the functioning of the regional body.

There would be some power play as the super economic powers are coming in as observers, but the officials did not rule out the positive impact it would have on the region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, South Korean Foreign and Trade Minister Song Min-soon, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher and the EU by its New Delhi-based envoy will represent their countries at the summit.

Each of the observers, who would be attending a Saarc summit for the first time, would be allowed to deliver a four-minute speech in the presence of the heads of state or government at the inaugural function on Tuesday.

Sources said a number of observer countries are likely to play a more proactive role in economically engaging the region and may put pressure on the Saarc for more competition and integration.

Bangladesh has welcomed the external powers in Saarc and the five major countries got the observer status and Afghanistan as new member under the chair of Bangladesh in the 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka.

Foreign ministry officials said major countries and economic powers have shown their interest to be associated with the South Asian region and it is also a fact that Saarc would benefit from these external linkages.

They said the Saarc member countries would call for a collective fight against terrorism and push for greater economic integration and connectivity in South Asia. There will be special focus on the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (Safta).

The focus would also be on making the grouping a more efficient organisation and move it towards implementing some of the crucial regional projects that have been under discussion for long.

The dream of a South Asian University (SAU) would move a step closer to reality at the summit when leaders will discuss the details of the project to make the proposed university–a large part of which will be based in India.

An inter-governmental agreement would be signed first to form the university before the details are worked out. The SAU is expected to be established in the Indian capital New Delhi.

The decision to have the first SAU in India was taken at a meeting of the university regulatory bodies of the Saarc countries and would now be ratified by the ministerial meeting on April 2.

Guhar Rizvi, a Bangladeshi national of Harvard University, prepared the concept note of SAU. The proposed SAU would witness free flow of students as well as faculty from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Sources say it would take another two to three years before SAU becomes a reality. The SAU would be a modern university and be developed as a centre of excellence on the lines of American Ivy League universities.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed the establishment of SAU during the 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka in 2005 with the objective to provide world-class facilities and professional faculty to students and researchers drawn from every Saarc country.

Other important intra-regional projects that would be discussed include Saarc Development Fund, Regional Telemedicine Network and Regional Food Bank.

Promoting greater connectivity–physical, economic and people to people–in the region would be the key theme of the summit.

According to an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 14th Saarc Summit will adopt a declaration establishing the Saarc Food Bank and the SAU.

Before the Saarc Summit on April 3-4, the meeting of the Saarc Council of Ministers will be held on April 2, the meeting of the Foreign Secretary level Standing Committee tomorrow and April 1 and the meeting of the Program Committee today.