Revamping the dormant South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) through practical cooperation, institutional reforms, and renewed political commitment is deemed imperative for economic advances and shared prosperity.
Speakers at a seminar Monday made the call as they think such an active bloc and a stronger SAARC Development Fund (SDF) under its ambit could become a key driver of the region's economic growth and development.
Speaking at the seminar on 'Revitalising SAARC', organised by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid notes that South Asia remains one of the least-integrated regions in the world despite its vast human, economic, cultural and strategic potential.
"The founding vision of SAARC remains as relevant today as ever. In fact, it has become more urgent," she says, adding that while regional cooperation is gaining momentum globally, South Asia continues to lag because of political fragmentation and weak economic integration.
Acknowledging the challenges facing the regional organisation, Shama Obaid says the SAARC summit process has remained stalled for years due to political mistrust, unresolved bilateral disputes, cross-border tensions and competing security perceptions, particularly between India and Pakistan.
However, she stresses that the organisation remains institutionally relevant as its charter is still in force, the Secretariat continues to function, and its specialised bodies, legal instruments and technical networks remain operational.
She says revitalisation must begin with an honest assessment of these constraints while strengthening forum's implementation capacity, financial resources and institutional mechanisms.
Placing trust at the centre of regional integration, the state minister proposes that confidence can be rebuilt gradually through practical cooperation in areas such as public health, disaster management, climate adaptation, customs facilitation, education, research and cultural exchanges.
"Trust does not always begin with grand political declarations. It can grow through technical cooperation and regular interaction among professionals, students, researchers and entrepreneurs."
Highlighting South Asia's poor record in intra-regional trade, Shama Obaid says the South Asian Free-Trade Area (SAFTA) has failed to create a dynamic regional market because of sensitive lists, non-tariff and para-tariffs barriers, weak logistics, customs delays and lack of standards harmonisation.
Instead of waiting for complete political consensus, she proposes revitalising the SAARC "from below"--through project-based cooperation, stronger regional institutions and people-centred initiatives.
As an initial step, Bangladesh wants SAARC to function at an "optimal functional level" until conditions become conducive to a full political revival.
Explaining the concept, she says it means maintaining regular technical meetings, a predictable calendar of activities, stronger specialised bodies and regional centres, continued cooperation in non-contentious sectors and visible benefits for the people of South Asia.
She has also advocated for flexible, project-based collaboration among willing member-states, allowing countries ready to cooperate to move ahead while keeping participation open to others.
Dhaka looks upon the SAARC Development Fund as a major instrument for accelerating regional development. The fund's leadership, governance and operational capacity should be strengthened so that it can finance impactful projects in health, agriculture, climate adaptation, women-led enterprises, rural development and social development.
She reiterates that bilateral disputes must not be allowed to paralyse regional cooperation, recalling that the SAARC Charter explicitly excludes contentious bilateral issues from the organisation's deliberations.
Commenting on Bangladesh's diplomatic efforts, Shama Obaid reveals that over the past four months, she had held separate discussions with representatives of all SAARC member-states, all of whom expressed positive views about reviving the regional body.
"The intent now has to become actionable."
She also emphasises that SAARC and BIMSTEC should complement rather than compete with each other. While BIMSTEC connects South Asia with the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia, SAARC remains the only platform representing the broader South Asian identity.
Describing SAARC as a diplomatic legacy of late President Ziaur Rahman, whose vision helped initiate regional cooperation in South Asia, she says the organisation remains closely aligned with Bangladesh's "Bangladesh First" foreign policy by promoting connectivity, trade, food security, climate resilience and regional stability.
Looking ahead, the state minister says Bangladesh is considering a calibrated set of confidence-building initiatives, including consultations with SAARC member-states, engagement with ambassadors and high commissioners in Dhaka, discussions with the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu on convening a Senior Officials' Meeting, and the possibility of holding a special session of the Council of Ministers.
"SAARC is waiting for wise leadership, practical cooperation and renewed confidence. Bangladesh is ready to contribute to that confidence," she told the meet.
In his keynote paper, Ambassador Tareq A Karim said though regional platforms like the EU and the ASEAN are moving ahead, SAARC is stuck in mistrust despite having shared culture, history and ecological vulnerability.
He thinks pragmatic issue-based cooperation is crucial to revitalizing the SAARC.
Ecological security, river governance, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges are some of such areas for pragmatic cooperation, he notes.
The keynote notes that the objectives such as welfare, economic growth, collective self-reliance and deepen mutual trust among South Asian countries, for which SAARC was launched, are still relevant.
In his welcome remarks BIISS DG Major-General A S M Ridwanur Rahman points out the fragile trade integration in the SAARC region and recommends a holistic approach to identifying the key constraints to strengthen the trade integration.
Diplomat Shamsul Alam and Professor Niloy Ranjan Biswas also spoke at the event.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com