Can South Asian learn from Greater Mekong Subregion?

THE GREATER Mekong Subregion (GMS) grouping is setting an example South Asia can ignore at its own peril. By building cross-border connectivity, these six South-East Asian nations have shown that regional cooperation brings its own benefits. Whether it is customs integration, the freer movement of people and goods, or even the purchase and sale of electricity, regional cooperation is in the interests of China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Not so long ago, GMS could not have served as an example for South Asia to emulate. Setting aside their many political differences, GMS nations have locked the region into a cooperative endeavour, which have set the stage for the transformation of their economies.

Like South Asia, this region has been the scene of major conflict, with Vietnam having had to fight long and hard against the French and the Americans to become a sovereign, united nation. Thailand, for instance, was on the "other side" of the Cold War divide; it was close to the Americans through this tumultuous period of history. Today, the leaders of all these countries have little hesitation in sitting down to work out strategies to help themselves and each other.

Are there any lessons from the Mekong for South Asia? Can it follow the example of GMS by allowing transit and trade, by buying and selling electricity, or is South Asia going to remain hostage to the political differences that pockmark the region?

At the November 12-13 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Dhaka, South Asian leaders made the usual noises about the benefits of regional cooperation and the need to advance towards a South Asian Economic Union. However, even the Dhaka declaration had to acknowledge that SAARC had been able to make very little progress in the 20 years that it had been in existence. "In view of the new challenges facing the region, pledges and commitments made in the last two decades should be translated into concrete actions in the form of regional projects and programmes and innovative initiatives," the joint declaration said.

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