![]() To remain viable, SAARC could follow the example of ASEAN which holds together many countries with a lot of differences. Sharma Oli stressed during his parliamentary address this August that “while BIMSTEC holds great possibilities, there is nevertheless urgent need to revive SAARC.” Having been too focused on security issues, BIMSTEC has failed to enthuse the membership which was more interested in a free trade agreement.Īccording to a World Bank report, at present, South Asia is “one of the least integrated regions” in the world, so there is an absolute need for a platform such as SAARC. Understandably, Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. The absence of SAARC is creating an irreplaceable vacuum in the region as it focuses more on reinforcing regional trade and cultural links. However, both Nepal and Thailand chose to opt out of the exercises and preferred to remain observers, proving that security dialogues and counterterrorism efforts cannot supersede the importance of trade and regional connectivity. So far, neither SAARC nor the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) have had such a military component. Nevertheless, the BIMSTEC members tried their best to bring the group to the next level, and recently India hosted the first BIMSTEC army exercises “MILEX 2018” in Pune. ![]() There is no real comparison between the two organizationally. On the other hand, the BIMSTEC has just 10 staff members to date, which includes the secretary general and three directors. and the forum has an extensive network of mechanisms, regional centers and conventions as well as a permanent Secretariat in Kathmandu, Nepal. Maintaining a huge difference in stature and size, SAARC has had 18 summits in the 32 years of its existence. However, it has been noted that though both forums can complement each other, there is no possibility of BIMSTEC replacing SAARC. Holding its 4th summit since it was created in 1997, the BIMSTEC forum, which is comprised of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, was resuscitated recently as a better option than SAARC for regional engagement. As the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) flounders, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) remains the only viable option for South Asian integration.
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