By IANS
Kolkata : Terrorism has emerged as a major stumbling block in developing relations among the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday.
“Terrorism should be treated fairly and squarely as it is a major hurdle in developing mutual cooperation between the countries in the region. There should be a zero tolerance towards terrorism,” Mukherjee said while speaking at a national seminar on ‘SAARC: Accelerating Cooperation Through Connectivity’, organised by the ministry of external affairs here.
He said a meeting of home ministers would soon be called to address regional security concerns like terrorism, trans-national crimes, narcotics and psychotropic substances. It will also look at measures on how national legislation and procedures may be harmonised for the benefit of victims of crime and human trafficking and explore how they should be rehabilitated.
Mukherjee said 20 years after the formation of SAARC, the time had come to examine whether it had been able to demonstrate any major tangible benefit.
“I can only say at a time of rapid globalisation and the integration of national economies in the global economic system, coupled with the current stalemate in the WTO negotiations, there is no alternative to accelerated regional cooperation,” said the minister, who is also the current chairman of the SAARC.
“The trend of discussions in the Doha Round seems to suggest that development is not a core concern of the developed countries. With the composition of SAARC, development is, in my view, our core concern. Growth for us is important. But growth without development is not our main objective,” he said.
Mukherjee said India by virtue of its size should not succumb to protectionism. “Protectionism as a buffer against regional cooperation is neither credible nor a legitimate strategy. India is the only country which shares a border with the majority of the SAARC nations. But we cannot think of protectionism as a strategy to safeguard against competition.
“I believe geography and the unique shared values of the South Asian region should be the building blocks for regional cooperation,” he said.
Mukherjee also harped on connectivity in the region – the theme of the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi in April this year. He said India had been able to maintain physical connectivity through its Look East Policy and in the west through its links with Central Asia.
He said to develop people-to-people contacts a liberalised visa regime for students, teachers, professors, journalists and patients would soon be introduced.
He said a decision had been taken to set up a SAARC University in India, which would be a unique centre of excellence where young minds from the region would be nurtured and encouraged to respond to the demands of globalisation and opportunities of regional cooperation.