Listing cross-border terrorism as one of the main challenges, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has to overcome it to ensure everlasting peace in the region. The other hurdles are blocking connectivity and obstructing trade, he said.
The Minister made these observations in an obvious reference to Pakistan while addressing an informal virtual meeting of foreign ministers of the eight-member grouping. It was not functioning for some time now because of differences between India and Pakistan.
The meeting of the foreign ministers is an annual event held on the margins of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. These meetings have often seen sharp exchanges between the two nations in recent years.
“Cross-border terrorism, blocking connectivity and obstructing trade are three key challenges that SAARC must overcome,” Jaishankar said in a string of tweets highlighting the contents of his speech. “Only then will we see enduring peace, prosperity and security in our South Asia region,” he added.
The Minister said, “Over the last 35 years, Saarc has made significant progress. But our efforts towards collective collaboration and prosperity have been hampered by acts of terrorism and threats to national security.
“Such an environment impedes our shared objective of realising the full potential of our collective endeavour. It is, therefore, crucial that we collectively resolve to defeat the scourge of terrorism, including the forces that nurture, support and encourage it. This will generate the much needed trust and confidence to collectively build a stronger and prosperous Saarc.”
India holds Pakistan responsible for cross-border terror in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).
Jaishankar said he had also reaffirmed India’s commitment to its “neighbourhood first” policy and towards building a connected, integrated, secure and prosperous South Asia. He also highlighted India’s Covid-19-related cooperation efforts, including a commitment of $10 million to the emergency fund for the region, the supply of essential drugs, medical consumables, and protection and test kits to the region, and a video conference of health professionals from the region to share information and best practices on the pandemic.
India had also launched a Covid-19 Information Exchange Platform (COINEX) to facilitate exchange of specialised information, helped the development of an innovative website by the Saarc Disaster Management Centre to provide reliable information and updates on the evolving situation, and activated the Saarc Food Bank mechanism to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, he said.
In his address, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke of his country’s “willingness to host the 19th SAARC Summit and for obstacles created in its way to be removed for SAARC to function as an effective instrument of regional cooperation”.
The summit was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November 2016 but was called off after an attack on an Indian Army camp at Uri in Kashmir that was blamed on Pakistan-based terrorists. Since then, SAARC has largely been dormant.