Not having all on same ‘ambitious page’ a challenge for Saarc: India

Though India is pressing for widening cooperation among Saarc members, it sees challenges ahead as not all Saarc members are on the same ‘ambitious page,’ reports UNB. “Admittedly, there’re challenges as not all Saarc members are on the same ambitious page,” said Indian Foreign Secretary Dr S Jaishankar. To overcome that, he said they also have ‘conceptualised’ groupings like BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal) that plurilateraly take forward sectors like motor transport and railways. “Bimstec is another relevant grouping with reference to the Bay of Bengal. We look forward to its developing a more robust agenda,” Jaishankar said while addressing the just-concluded Indian Ocean conference in Singapore.
Studies are already underway on the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor, he said.
In these two groups, Pakistan is not member and it did not come on board to sign the agreement during the last Saarc Summit held in Kathmandu, on the ground that it needs more time to consult all its provinces. The Indian Foreign Secretary said India is ‘consequently’ pressing now to widen cooperation among Saarc members, including through new initiatives in fields like weather forecasting, disaster management or satellite capabilities. “We’re also working towards greater connectivity and promote expanding people-to-people contacts,” he said.
He said re-energising of Saarc as one of India’s key foreign policy priorities and India is very conscious that South Asia is among the least integrated regions of the world, according to Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
“This not only damages the growth prospects of Saarc members but is also a drag on the larger rise of Asia and the Indian Ocean that I’ve spoken about,” Jaishankar said.

Not having all on same ambitious page a challenge for Saarc: India

Though India is pressing for widening cooperation among Saarc members, it sees challenges ahead as not all Saarc members are on the same ambitious page, reports UNB. Admittedly, therere challenges as not all Saarc members are on the same ambitious page, said Indian Foreign Secretary Dr S Jaishankar. To overcome that, he said they also have conceptualised groupings like BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal) that plurilateraly take forward sectors like motor transport and railways. Bimstec is another relevant grouping with reference to the Bay of Bengal. We look forward to its developing a more robust agenda, Jaishankar said while addressing the just-concluded Indian Ocean conference in Singapore. Studies are already underway on the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor, he said. In these two groups, Pakistan is not member and it did not come on board to sign the agreement during the last Saarc Summit held in Kathmandu, on the ground that it needs more time to consult all its provinces. The Indian Foreign Secretary said India is consequently pressing now to widen cooperation among Saarc members, including through new initiatives in fields like weather forecasting, disaster management or satellite capabilities. Were also working towards greater connectivity and promote expanding people-to-people contacts, he said. He said re-energising of Saarc as one of Indias key foreign policy priorities and India is very conscious that South Asia is among the least integrated regions of the world, according to Indian Ministry of External Affairs. This not only damages the growth prospects of Saarc members but is also a drag on the larger rise of Asia and the Indian Ocean that Ive spoken about, Jaishankar said.