Revival of SAARC spirit can solve many regional problems: Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Yunus

Mr. Yunus mentioned that he would try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session scheduled to be held later this month

Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh interim government, during an interview to PTI. | Photo Credit: PTI

There should be a revival of the “spirit of SAARC,” Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government has said, underlining that the eight-member bloc can solve many of the region's problems.

In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Chief Adviser Yunus said that although the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was formed with a great cause, it now exists only on paper and is not functioning.

The regional grouping comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Mr. Yunus mentioned that he would try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session scheduled to be held later this month.

He also mentioned that he will try to get the heads of state of SAARC nations together for a photo op.

“Obviously, we will try to meet [Prime Minister Narendra Modi]. I will try if all the heads of state of SAARC nations come together and take a photo. SAARC was formed for a great cause; it now exists only on paper and is not functioning. We have forgotten the name of SAARC; I am trying to revive the spirit of SAARC,” he said.

Prime Minister Modi is likely to address the high-level UN General Assembly session on September 26, according to a provisional list of speakers issued by the UN.

The high-level General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly will take place from September 24-30.

“The SAARC summit has not taken place for quite a long time. If we come together, a lot of problems will be resolved,” Mr. Yunus said.

Nepal has been making efforts to activate the regional grouping, which has not been very effective since 2016.

The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to “prevailing circumstances”.

The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.

The Nobel laureate noted that although the European Union, which was formed along similar lines as SAARC, has achieved a lot through mutual cooperation, SAARC has yet to achieve the same.

“The European countries have achieved a lot through the European Union. We have to ensure that SAARC works. Look at the European Union, and how brilliantly it works. If there is a problem regarding Pakistan, other ways can be worked out. But the functioning of SAARC must not stop,” he said.

The SAARC has not been very effective since 2016, as its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one in Kathmandu in 2014.

Speaking on the issue of the Rohingya influx in Bangladesh, Yunus said he would seek help from India to convince Myanmar to take back its population.

Mr. Yunus also said Dhaka needs the help of both India and China to manage the crisis.

“We need the help of India and China to resolve the issue. Nearly one million people have come to Bangladesh, and now this population is growing. It is putting tremendous pressure on Bangladesh’s economy. Some countries are taking them but in small numbers. As India shares good relations with Myanmar, we need India’s help in convincing Myanmar to take them back,” he said.

Over one million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2017 after a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State, described by the UN and others as ethnic cleansing, and now live in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar—among the world's largest and most densely populated—with little hope of returning to Myanmar, where they are largely denied citizenship and basic rights.