Security and prosperity in South Asia

• Source: Global Times
• [21:39 June 18 2009]
• Comments

The first track is energy diplomacy. Last month, Pakistan and Iran signed an agreement on a gas pipeline which is also called the “peace pipeline.” The agreement leaves space for India to join in whenever it is ready to do so. This is a truly historic agreement as it will one day link the Gulf, Central Asia, South Asia, Russia and China. In the larger interests of the region, attempts to scupper this pipeline should be discarded. Another project is the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline. It can go south and east from Pakistan. These pipelines will not remain pipe dreams if the region develops consensus for friendly cooperation, harmony and stability.

The second positive is water. It is scarce. Prosperity of the entire region depends on its fair distribution. The historic 1960 Indus Basin Treaty should be implemented in letter and spirit. It should not be undermined by revisionist interpretations.

Pakistan should be associated with the studies on the flow of water in the Kabul river system, which is shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan, and briefed about the impact on Pakistan of the projects on the Kabul river being funded by the US and India.

The third positive is the growing regional trade and transportation network. In recent years intra-regional trade has increased faster than South Asia’s overall trade. Formal trade flows within South Asia, roughly $6 billion as indicated by the World Bank for the period 2005-2006, remain modest compared to other regions, but there is substantial informal, unrecorded trade taking place through porous borders.

We should increase formal trade by investing in ports and shipping, highways and road transport, railways, and air transport systems.

The fourth positive is the regional organizations, such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which are building blocks and enablers for confidence building, economic cooperation, and trade facilitation.

SAARC will be far richer by associating with China more closely, as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is by welcoming South Asian nations in its deliberations.

South Asia would fare much better if it learned from the positive experiences of the European Union (EU) and ASEAN. The EU especially is a shining example of hostile nations burying the hatchet and started an era of cooperation and integration.

The author is the ambassador of Pakistan to China