Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus has raised the issue of the revival of Saarc with Sergio Gor , the US ambassador-designate to India who will also play the role of special envoy for South and Central Asia.
Yunus told Gor, who he met on the margins of the UNGA in New York, that the interim govt has intensified its efforts in this regard, according to Dhaka.
Saarc summits are held biennially but has been stalled since the summit in Kathmandu in 2014. The Uri terrorist attack in 2016 put paid to the summit that Pakistan was scheduled to host that year, and India has since maintained that the neighbour's continued support to cross-border terrorism has made the dialogue unfeasible.
India will be wary of outside push to resume Saarc
Even as Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus wants to revive Saarc, India has continued to support Saarc activities in diverse sectors and blamed Pakistan for blocking trade and connectivity initiatives. While it hasn't withdrawn from the association, India has sought to strengthen regional cooperation through Bimstec in which Pakistan is not a member.
The US readout of Yunus and Sergio Gor's chat said regional cooperation was discussed but didn't specifically mention Saarc. Bangladesh didn't say what Gor's response was, but India will be wary of any external pressure to resume the summit process. The idea of Pakistan hosting even a virtual summit has been rendered a non-starter because of the Pahalgam attack.
India sees the appointment of Gor as a welcome development but will guard against any US attempt to intrude into South Asian affairs, particularly if it has any security fallout for the region. India is already worried about security challenges that Dhaka's warming ties with Pakistan might entail. It has shown little interest so far in Yunus's efforts to revive Saarc.
While countries like Bangladesh and Nepal seek a resumption of the summit process, India maintains that there has been no material change in the situation since the 19th summit, which Pakistan had to host, was postponed and that there's no consensus among members on the meeting.
India closely followed a China-Pakistan-Bangladesh trilateral meeting at Kunming, taking note of reports that this was an effort to create a new bloc. However, Dhaka later denied it was an effort to forge an alliance against any country.
Yunus also discussed with Gor the Rohingya crisis, and the "proliferation of disinformation targeting Dhaka".
Yunus told Gor, who he met on the margins of the UNGA in New York, that the interim govt has intensified its efforts in this regard, according to Dhaka.
Saarc summits are held biennially but has been stalled since the summit in Kathmandu in 2014. The Uri terrorist attack in 2016 put paid to the summit that Pakistan was scheduled to host that year, and India has since maintained that the neighbour's continued support to cross-border terrorism has made the dialogue unfeasible.
India will be wary of outside push to resume Saarc
Even as Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus wants to revive Saarc, India has continued to support Saarc activities in diverse sectors and blamed Pakistan for blocking trade and connectivity initiatives. While it hasn't withdrawn from the association, India has sought to strengthen regional cooperation through Bimstec in which Pakistan is not a member.
The US readout of Yunus and Sergio Gor's chat said regional cooperation was discussed but didn't specifically mention Saarc. Bangladesh didn't say what Gor's response was, but India will be wary of any external pressure to resume the summit process. The idea of Pakistan hosting even a virtual summit has been rendered a non-starter because of the Pahalgam attack.
India sees the appointment of Gor as a welcome development but will guard against any US attempt to intrude into South Asian affairs, particularly if it has any security fallout for the region. India is already worried about security challenges that Dhaka's warming ties with Pakistan might entail. It has shown little interest so far in Yunus's efforts to revive Saarc.
While countries like Bangladesh and Nepal seek a resumption of the summit process, India maintains that there has been no material change in the situation since the 19th summit, which Pakistan had to host, was postponed and that there's no consensus among members on the meeting.
India closely followed a China-Pakistan-Bangladesh trilateral meeting at Kunming, taking note of reports that this was an effort to create a new bloc. However, Dhaka later denied it was an effort to forge an alliance against any country.
Yunus also discussed with Gor the Rohingya crisis, and the "proliferation of disinformation targeting Dhaka".
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