Southasia, SAARC and the world
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who assumes the SAARC chair in April, has spoken of the importance of assessing Southasian regional cooperation "in the larger Asian context". The implications here are twofold. First, Southasians must critically assess our own achievements within SAARC, measured against those of other Asian regional groups. Second, SAARC needs to engage more actively with such groups for wider mutual benefit.
The prime minister's message this past December on the 21st anniversary of SAARC's founding spoke of opportunities to "re-claim our legacy of interconnectedness to restore the natural exchange of goods, people and ideas that have characterised our shared Southasian space." Clearly the objective envisaged was not to install the type of central control or conformity over the region as was imposed in colonial times, but rather to enhance connectivity within Southasia in various areas where such links have been obscured and obstructed – the reasons for which have been identified, but perhaps not adequately addressed.