SARC Activities Continue Amidst Stalled Summit

Kathmandu. The 18th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was concluded in Kathmandu. However, even after 12 years since the 18th summit, the 19th summit has not been finalized. The 19th summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2016, was canceled at the last moment after India decided not to participate. This summit, which is supposed to be held every two years, is no longer even discussed. However, other SAARC activities have not stopped. The 'SAARC Internship Program (SIP) 2026' has started at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu. This session includes the participation of young researchers and students from various countries in the South Asian region. The Secretariat stated that this program has become an important platform for young people and students to gain practical experience in regional cooperation activities. The Secretariat believes that it provides a golden opportunity for participants to understand and internalize SAARC's objectives, policies, and activities closely. It is said that during their tenure, interns will be directly involved in various functional areas of SAARC, but the Secretariat has not said anything about the SAARC summit. The SAARC Secretariat and UN Women Asia-Pacific jointly organized a program on women's economic empowerment in Kathmandu on May 13 and 14. On May 14, a SAARC Talk Series was also organized in Sri Lanka. The SAARC Agriculture Centre, in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Bangladesh and the International Food Policy Research Institute South Asia, held a coordination meeting with development partners and investors in Sri Lanka on May 10. Many such programs are being held in SAARC nations. No organization under SAARC is inactive. Member states are also providing their contributions on time. SAARC Secretary-General Mohammed Golam Sarwar discussed regional cooperation with Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai on May 21. Earlier, Secretary-General Golam met with Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal on May 8. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that discussions were held on regional cooperation as well as the SAARC Secretariat. Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri informed that Secretary-General Golam briefed Minister Khanal about SAARC's activities and future direction. Spokesperson Chhetri said that Nepal is committed to the SAARC process and is working to advance SAARC's activities rapidly. He said, 'The summit is a matter of consensus among the SAARC countries, and Nepal is playing its role.' Why has SAARC faded? Foreign policy expert Nilambar Acharya says that SAARC has faded mainly due to the dispute between India and Pakistan. He said, 'As long as consensus is not reached among the member states, it will not move forward. For that, Nepal, as the chairing nation, must take the initiative.' Acharya states that an organization like SAARC is even more needed in the current situation. He said, 'SAARC nations should seriously move it forward, but it has not moved forward due to the influence of geopolitics.' Foreign affairs experts argue that despite Nepal's best efforts to hold the SAARC summit, India has not shown interest. When the then Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba visited India in August 2081 (2024 AD), she did not receive a positive response about SAARC from their Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. Foreign Minister Jaishankar had said, 'If someone attacked your country, killed your citizens, would you hold a meeting?' Arzu raised the issue of SAARC in a meeting of the International Relations and Tourism Committee under the House of Representatives on January 15, 2081 (2024 AD). This confirms that SAARC cannot move forward until the problem between India and Pakistan is resolved. At that time, Arzu had said, 'The consent of all must be obtained to hold a meeting of the Heads of State, otherwise the meeting will not happen. Everybody has to say yes, 100 percent yes, only then will the meeting take place.' Not only Arzu, but then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli also showed initiative to hold the SAARC summit at that time. Oli also mentioned the SAARC summit in the political report presented at the CPN-UML meeting held in January 2081 (2024 AD). Not only that, he had called the then Pakistani Ambassador to Nepal, Abrar H. Hashmi, and discussed the matter. However, experts say that subsequent governments have not given importance to SAARC. Former Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi says that the SAARC summit is a political issue. He stated that political consensus among member states is necessary. He said, 'All other organizations under SAARC are active based on bureaucracy, but the issue of holding the summit is political, which is why the problem has arisen.' The SAARC charter states that if any member state objects to calling a meeting, the meeting will not be held, and the summit has not been held because India has not shown interest. What is the India-Pakistan dispute? Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are member states of SAARC. No activity has taken place since the SAARC summit held in Nepal on November 27 and 28, 2014. Five months after the SAARC summit, the SAARC ministerial meeting held in Pokhara decided to hold the 19th summit in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 7 and 8, 2017. However, the SAARC summit was postponed due to the conflict between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir on September 17, 2016. With the internal conflict between India and Pakistan escalating, SAARC has reached the verge of dissolution. India has accused Pakistan of attacking its soldiers in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. 19 Indian soldiers lost their lives in that attack. That incident directly affected the SAARC summit. Since then, India has not shown interest in the SAARC summit. There is no sign of this summit being held until relations between India and Pakistan improve. This summit can be held elsewhere besides Pakistan, but Pakistan does not seem ready for it. In other words, it is very challenging for SAARC meetings to take place unless India and Pakistan are ready.