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Unit 22 : SAARC/SAPTA, ASEAN

crimes, international economic crimes and environmental crimes, sea piracy and money laundering, Notes
through effective institutional linkages and programmes of cooperation.
As partners ASEAN and INDIA have also agreed to collaborate on the global plane in areas of general
and complete disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction under strict
and effective international control. India sees its growing interaction with ASEAN as ‘critical to
fulfilling the promise of the 21st century being an Asian century’ to use the words of Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh. While launching the INDIA—ASEAN car rally at Guwahati on the eve of the
third ASEAN—INDIA Summit, the Prime Minister called it ‘a journey in to the future demonstrating
the possibilities in trade, tourism and people to people contact by bringing all these countries together’.
He was equally conscious however of the enormous benefits likely to accrue to India’s north eastern
region through an intensification of ties with ASEAN and its member countries and of which the sub-
regional cooperation under BIMSTC is a part.

Milestones Covered
To give practical shape to the objectives of this newly envisaged partnership, the Laos document is
accompanied by an Action Plan for the implementation of specific activities and projects that will be
periodically reviewed in the light of the dynamic developments in the region and the world. With the
signing of this document India joins the array of ASEAN partners such as China, Japan and South
Korea. Our relationship with ASEAN has come a long way from the year 1991 when the first steps
were taken to move towards a constructive relationship with ASEAN. I had the good fortune of
being Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs at that time and visited several ASEAN
countries with that intent. As a result India became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992.
India’s trade with ASEAN countries has multiplied a few times since then and now stands at US $13
billion. It is targeted to reach US $30 billion by 2007. This is a far cry from the mid-1960’s when India
declined the offer to be a full member of ASEAN. The Partnership Agreement reached at Laos with
ASEAN makes it possible for India to interact with the South East Asia community of 500 million
people with a combined GDP of US $750 billion as a collectivity. ASEAN’s integrative mechanisms
and the success it has achieved as a regional body should also inspire greater confidence in SAARC
(the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), as an instrument of change in the South
Asian region.
Self-Assessment
1. Choose the correct options:
(i) The signing of % at its Islamabad Summit can be regarded as a landmark in the evolution of
................ .
(a) SAPTA, ASEAN (b) SAFTA, SAARC
(c) SAFTA.ASI-EAN (d) SAPTA, SAARC
(ii) What is SAARC?
(iii) What is SAPTA stands for?
(iv) What is SAFTA stands for?
22.3 Summary

• SAARC commenced the process of liberalization eight years ago when in 1995 the Organization
established the South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA). During the last eight
years four rounds of negotiations have been held among the member countries, exchanging
lists of items for tariff concessions. So far more than 5000 items have been liberalized.
• South Asia has to contend with another factor that is emerging. Due to the impact of globalization,
consumer taste has developed and is growing further in favour of goods from outside the
region. As our experience shows, the only way to meet this challenge is to improve the quality
of our products for our consumers and make them competitive against imported goods rather
than clamp down on imports and fight the rising tide of globalization.

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