03 January 2004	Saturday	10 Ziqa'ad 1424

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee can quite clearly see a rainbow over South Asia where seven nations put aside petty politics and border bickering to harmoniously blend and build a strong economic bloc that will rival the world.

Vajpayee carries that dream with him to Islamabad for the 12th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) from Jan 4-6. At a conference in December he shared his vision of the seven-nation grouping jointly tackling crimes like drug trafficking and smuggling, which he said "flourish in our region because of our mutual rivalries and inadequate coordination".

He spoke of the possibility of "mutual security cooperation, open borders and even a single currency". "The peace dividend for South Asia is the creation of new hope and opportunity for its billion and a half people... The investment inputs required to reap this dividend are pragmatic politics, rational economics and popular participation," Vajpayee said.

Saarc groups India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives. Since its inaugural meeting in Dhaka in 1985, its agenda has been dictated by relations between India and Pakistan although it is not a forum for bilateral issues.

The last summit in January 2002 in Kathmandu was originally scheduled for November 1999. It was cancelled following India's protests after General Musharraf seized power in Pakistan in a military coup. According to the Saarc charter it is mandatory for all heads of state to attend a summit.

Improving relations between India and Pakistan have raised expectations that much will be achieved at the Islamabad summit. India needs to send a strong message out to its neighbours that they have nothing to fear, and in fact a lot to gain, from its size and centrality in the region, said former Saarc secretary-general Kant Bhargava.

India is often viewed as the big South Asian bully. It is larger than the other Saarc members in terms of GDP, size and military power. For more than half a century it has fought with Pakistan over Kashmir. It accuses Bangladesh of shielding insurgents and pushing in millions of illegal immigrants across the border.

Former Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said, "India has a unique centrality. No two others among ourselves can interact directly with each other without touching or crossing Indian land, sea or air space."

Vajpayee has recognized the need for Saarc nations to resolve differences. "Our region is heir to a centuries-old tradition of tolerance, pluralism and creative interaction."

He said in the post-Cold War world of globalization, nations were focusing more on regional economics. "Conflict has given way to cooperation, dialogue moderates differences. There is a clear recognition that hostility only stunts economies, inhibits trade and retards progress."

Vajpayee said, "If we in South Asia look back objectively at the experiences of our freedom struggles and of our nation-building, the one stark lesson that stands out is the imperative of forging a unity based on our commonalities."

"Whenever we have dissipated our energies in internal squabbling, external forces have come in to sort out differences and stayed on to exploit our resources."

His statements have set the tone for the Islamabad summit. Member states have already approved the draft South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) framework treaty, as well as an additional protocol to the existing regional convention on the suppression of terrorism.

India and Pakistan have agreed to tariff-free imports from the least-developed Saarc countries. In the past Pakistan insisted on linking trade with resolution of the Kashmir issue. Analysts say the SAFTA treaty, to be implemented in 2006, will change the dynamics of South Asia.

While a single Saarc currency is still some years away, observers like Indian bureaucrat Sitharam Gurumurthi argue that it would enable South Asian countries to enhance their collective bargaining power in the world market. He said Saarc should start working towards an agreement on the lines of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty.

Also to be signed at the summit is a social charter, which focuses on poverty alleviation and other issues central to the region. "The onus of making the summit a success will eventually rest on the ability of the leaders of both these countries (India and Pakistan) to rise above their traditional suspicions of each other.

They must adopt a more magnanimous approach so as to allow all member states to work together to develop their socio-economic and political potential to the fullest," the Indian Express newspaper said in an editorial on Friday.

"Saarc is not a forum for airing bilateral differences, and it would indeed be a pity if once again it was held ransom to the stated and unstated hostility between two of its most important member states," the paper said.-dpa