Cooperation, not vested interests, needed: Sushma Swaraj

In what seems to be a veiled reference to Pakistan’s intransigence in blocking road and rail connectivity agreements at Saarc summits, India on Tuesday said “political insecurity can block traffic even on roads that exist”.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the “Raisina Dialogue” on Tuesday, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said, “While resources and capabilities drive the pace of connectivity, policy choices can be a critical factor. Even in South Asia, we have seen that good neighbourly ties can have a strong beneficial effect on building road and rail connections, opening waterways or supplying energy. The desire to cooperate has spawned institutions, bodies and groupings in different regions. Saarc, as you all know, is our local example and one where we are still striving to realise its full potential. But no one can deny that our openness to each other is an important consequence of this intent. But there is also the other side to consider. Political insecurity can block traffic even on roads that exist. It can prevent the exploitation of natural complementarities. As a result, demand and supply are often kept apart, mostly at the cost of the concerned populations.

At times, we have creatively worked on sub-regional combinations like BBIN so that the momentum of cooperation does not slow down. But at the end of the day, it remains our conviction that the logic of larger regional cooperation will prevail over vested interests that block it.”

The participants included former Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Bangladesh foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali. Foreign secretary S. Jaishankar also attended.

On terrorism, Ms Swaraj said, “Another aspect that you will surely deliberate upon is the threat of disruption in connectivity. In its most radical form, this emanates from the spread of terrorism, which has mutated to keep pace with the march of technology. As a result, we confront the spectre of cyber attacks even as we struggle with violence inspired by medieval beliefs. Use or threat of use of force by nations in territorial disputes is another source of concern. Dissuasion and diplomacy are part of the answers in such situations.”