Partnership
FORGING an alliance between the government and the private sector was themain
theme of the Fifth SAARC Economic Cooperation Conference on Sunday.That the theme deserves
discussions is to state the obvious in thepresentday age of trade liberalisation and
globalisation. Without a close cooperation between the government and the private sector
for promotingregional trade and protecting the region against the risks of
globalisation,nations in South Asia become a vulnerable lot to the outside forces. South
Asians share many commonalities in the commerce and trade environments. They have a lot in
common and protecting their common interests presuppose that they—both from the
government and the private sector—come together to formulate a common economic
agenda. It is always advantageous to deal with the globalisation forces—which are
here to stay, whether one likes it or not—from the strength of regional agenda and
cohesion. But, as Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala told the conference delegates,
building a cooperation in the regional economy is a challenge. And that challenge can be
met only through a partnership between the government and the private sector.
It is equally important that this alliance promotes trade liberalisation in
such a way as to promote the general prosperity of the one billion people in the region,
and not in a manner that enriches a few at the cost of the teeming millions. But how do
the two—the government and the private sector—work in tandem? What is the best
way to achieve a productive, smooth alliance? One advice from one of the speakers at the
conference is worth mulling over. It went thus: The government should specialise in
planning, structuring, and regulation while the private sector should specialise in
management, investment, construction and financing. The responsibility should be
transferred through, among others, deregulation. Given the magnitude of the task of
pulling the majority of the South Asians out of the poverty pits, it is obvious that the
two have to seek ways on how best to achieve such an alliance and then work towards it.
The average South Asian has been given promises of bounty through increased trade among
the SAARC which has unfortunately taken too long to materialise. The proposed South Asia
Free Trade Area, even if and when it is created, is not going to automatically be a magic
wand in boosting regional trade. For that to happen, the government and the private sector
have to start working together right away.
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