NEW DELHI: A cross-regional webinar on reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) concluded with a broad consensus on the need to restart regional cooperation.
Speakers called for rethinking on the part of India to ensure revival of the SAARC and to other countries to undertake flexible arrangements, people-to-people engagement, and a fresh review of the grouping’s charter.
Participants agreed at the end that SAARC, dormant since 2015, can be revived by prioritising less contentious sectors such as trade, services, climate cooperation, health, and education, while gradually rebuilding political trust.
There was also a strong push to reinvigorate the South Asian Free Trade Area framework and expand intra-regional trade, which remains under 5 percent.
Opening the discussion, Bangladesh’s former ambassador Safi-u-Rahman said SAARC’s stagnation reflects deep political mistrust, especially between India and Pakistan, and the limitations of consensus-based decision-making. He argued that excluding political disputes from SAARC had become counterproductive and called for engaging directly in conflict resolution, alongside people-centric sectors like agriculture, tourism, and education.
He also proposed reviving an Eminent Persons Group to review and modernise the SAARC charter.
Sri Lankan economist Ganeshan Vignaraja said South Asia remains a “bright spot” in a fragile global economy but warned that SAFTA has failed to deliver due to trade barriers, large sensitive lists, and geopolitical tensions. He suggested shifting focus from goods to services, digital trade, and business-to-business engagement, arguing these areas are less politically sensitive and offer quicker gains. He also stressed the need to involve young people and strengthen cultural linkages to rebuild trust.
From Pakistan, former information minister Javed Jabbar emphasised that while civil society initiatives and digital engagement are useful, meaningful regional cooperation ultimately requires political backing. He said state institutions must be brought back into the process to enable travel, trade, and sustained dialogue. He also flagged the negative role of media narratives in deepening divisions and called for renewed engagement among editors and media organisations across the region.
India’s former diplomat and union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar strongly backed these views but was critical of New Delhi’s approach, describing it as the principal roadblock to SAARC’s revival. He proposed that smaller South Asian countries form a “coalition of the willing” to move forward with cooperation even in India’s absence, arguing that a functioning regional bloc would eventually compel India to rejoin. He drew parallels with European integration, saying economic incentives could drive political change.
Former Pakistani minister Engineer Khurram Dastagir said regional trade and cooperation remain essential for poverty reduction, noting South Asia is still one of the poorest regions globally.
He suggested countries should move ahead with deeper trade integration among willing partners, including reducing tariffs and improving financial and digital connectivity, instead of remaining hostage to India-Pakistan tensions. He also recalled how India and Pakistan were close to a trade agreement when he was the commerce minister in 2013. He said it was delayed at the request of an Indian leader as elections were nearby in India.
A business participant from Pakistan cautioned against excluding India altogether, arguing that meaningful regional integration without the region’s largest economy would be difficult. He stressed the need to “put politics aside” and focus on economic cooperation, including existing informal trade routes through third countries.
A UK-based researcher, Vishal Sharma, working on SAARC, said several apex bodies and affiliated institutions have not had their mandates renewed since 2017, weakening the regional framework.
He called for reviving these bodies, strengthening think tank collaboration, and promoting what he described as “people’s SAARC” through civil society initiatives.
Other participants briefly underscored the importance of environmental cooperation, citing shared challenges such as glacier melt, air pollution, and water stress across the region. They said these non-political issues could serve as entry points for rebuilding trust. There were also calls to improve regional connectivity through air and sea routes, given the political sensitivities around land corridors.
The webinar was organised by the Center for Peace and Progress, a voluntary group founded in 1991 by O P Shah that has been working to promote dialogue, particularly between India and Pakistan.
The organisers said the initiative aims to widen engagement across South Asia and build momentum for peace, cooperation, and regional integration.
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