SAARC itself is an example of how poorly India has been able to conduct relations with its neighbours. For a country seeking world power status, the SAARC process should provide the optics for India to sit at the high table of diplomacy. Instead, the stains are visible on the table cloth and its edges frayed where India sits. While Modi's threat to push ahead with the SAARC agenda "with or without" some of its members looked good, Pakistan's sullen presence was a reminder of the limitations of India's power projections.

Leave aside Pakistan, in 29 years of SAARC's existence, the Summit, which was to be an annual affair, has been held only 18 times. The Kathmandu Summit was due three years ago but because of Nepal's domestic turmoil it was postponed several times and finally held this month. The Kathmandu Declaration recognised this lacuna and the leaders decided that summits would be held every two years without fail, or even earlier if needed.

Modi was acutely aware of SAARC's tardy progress. In his speech at the Summit, Modi pointed out that less than 5 per cent of the region's global trade takes place between SAARC countries and less than 10 per cent of the region's internal trade takes place under SAARC Free Trade Area. As he said, it was still harder and more expensive to travel within our region than to Bangkok and Singapore.

At the start of the Summit, Modi had hoped to push through three major agreements involving connectivity among the member countries — on energy sharing, rail linkages and road transport. Pakistan played the spoilsport and it was only at the Retreat that Sharif, egged on by other members, agreed to sign the Framework Agreement on Energy Co-operation. This would enable, for example, Bangladesh, India and Bhutan to connect their grids to supply electricity seamlessly — a major breakthrough.

On road and rail connectivity, Pakistan reluctantly agreed to hold a meeting of Transport Ministers within three months to finalise the agreement for approval. That held out some hope. But regional trade, which could have been a major binding force, is lagging. With Pakistan refusing to give India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status, progress under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) has been poor. Also, under SAFTA, there is still plenty to be done to simplify the paper-work and harmonise standards relating to trade barriers among member countries. In the meantime, India has resorted to signing bilateral trade agreements with other member countries to boost regional trade.

While there was much made out of other SAARC nations (Pakistan and Nepal particularly) pushing for a greater role for China as an Observer during the Kathmandu Summit, it proved to be hot air. India's approach to dampen the call for involvement of the nine Observers invited for SAARC, including China, was clever. It told the Observers to put their "money where the mouth is" and fund development projects in the region rather than just play politics.

While Modi, who was attending his first SAARC summit, was able to reinvigorate the SAARC process and bring fresh ideas to the table, it is clear that the grouping has a long way to go. If SAARC is just trundling along, the main reason remains the continuing India-Pakistan standoff. If Modi wants the "optimism" that he sought to be infused into SAARC, sooner rather than later he would have to find ways to engage Pakistan in a "meaningful" dialogue. India's relations with Pakistan shouldn't be like the famed lyrics of U2, the rockband: "I can't live with or without you."

raj@tribuneindia.com