Kathmandu: Pressure is on Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to persuade him to join the other SAARC countries in the three major agreements arrived at the summit. The three major agreements aim at promoting cross-border trade, integrating energy grids and free up road and rail movement.
In its 30 years, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has delivered negligible results for economic ties and development among its eight members – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Â
Despite a free trade pact since 2006, South Asian nations conduct only 5% of their total trade with each other, and there are few transport and power links among them
Whether the SAARC Summit that wraps up on Thursday will prove a mega-flop depends now on Pakistan. It alone among the eight member countries has objected to three major agreements that aim at promoting cross-border trade, which remains minimal between SAARC countries.
Countries like Nepal are now trying to persuade Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to give his assent; the lobbying is expected to continue at an informal retreat that will be held on Thursday at Dhulikhel just outside Kathmandu.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the SAARC summit on Wednesday, his assessment of the group’s accomplishments was frank. “As SAARC we have failed to move with the speed that our people expect and want. Nowhere in the world are collective efforts more urgent than in South Asia; and, nowhere else is it so modest.”
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Experts agree that cooperation between New Delhi and Islamabad is key to the success of SAARC. This gathering comes just weeks after some of the worst cross-border violence in Kashmir – 20 civilians were killed last month. Modi is holding meetings on the sidelines of the summit with all SAARC leaders except Sharif.