Pan-Asian cooperation is still a far cry

Pan-Asian associations are yet to make any headway towards meeting their goals and objectives, though there is a plethora of such overlapping organisations in place. This is somewhat unlike the situation in other continents like those of Europe, North America and South America. As such, cooperation bodies in Asia are found to make more noises than substance and draw rather a casual attention from the peoples of the continent and even leaders of the countries concerned. There are also many regional and sub-regional bodies in Asia. But these, excepting the Association of South East Asian Countries (ASEAN) and a couple or more like it, have not yet succeeded much in forging effective cooperation and collaboration.

Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that inter-country or inter-regional cooperation in Asia as a continent has not deepened beyond what is observed as lofty statements from time to time at annual or similar meetings and conferences of the members of related groupings, associations and bodies. Even the level of participation in such meetings and conferences does, at times, raises doubts whether the member-countries concerned are really interested, politically and otherwise, in forging cooperation in the stated areas of relevance. The case of the recently-held summit of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), a continent-wise body of 32 member-countries that was set up in 2002, can be cited here. The summit was held in Kuwait and it adopted Kuwait Declaration, laying out the blueprint for ACD's future cooperation. But the progress made so far by this Pan-Asian body in matters of visible and tangible benefits for the people of this continent, remains unimpressive. The ACD has been limping in terms of delivery. As such, the Kuwait Declaration, notwithstanding its focus on some important areas of development, does not inspire much confidence in its future. This is likely to be the case in the years ahead, if there is no quantum leap in real political commitments by the leaders of all countries concerned to unlocking the potential of cooperation and collaboration for the benefit of the teeming millions in the continent.

Coming close on the heels of the ACD summit in Kuwait, another continental cooperation forum - the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-IOC) - that was set up in Mauritius as far back as in 1997, has just held its 12th ministerial meeting in the Indian capital of New Delhi. The 20-member IOR-IOC, according to reports appearing in the media, has focussed on efforts towards promoting trade and investment among countries in the Indian Ocean Region. The representatives of the participating countries in the New Delhi meeting have, thus, interacted on enhancing cooperation among them in tourism, culture, education, skill development, fisheries, small-and-medium enterprises, infrastructure, maritime transport, natural disaster preparedness and management etc. These are more or less the same areas which are also highlighted in the Kuwait Declaration of the ACD Summit. As such, there is hardly any novelty in them. Like the ACD, the IOR-IOC lacks in any properly structured arrangement for its operational activities and follow-up measures. This is one major weakness of such bodies for cooperation in a broader region.

Asia needs to get the basics right for meaningful cooperation and collaboration among its countries and regions. This continent has a huge institutional gap for promoting cooperation. Barring a few, most such organisations have not the breadth or depth in a region that is far more complex, diverse and populous than other continents. Creating a pan-continental institutional framework for cooperation is a daunting task in Asia. But an initiative to meet this task is critically important to let things move in the right direction aimed at forging collaboration and cooperation in Asia for the benefit of its people. The political leaders of the continent should take note of it, if they really mean business about what they often say in terms of the benefits of cooperation in Asia.

Sourced: thefinancialexpress