Majyd Aziz
As Former President of Karachi Chamber
of Commerce and Industry as well as Former Chairman of SITE Association of
Industry and as Founder of a few Bilateral Forums, I often assess the contributions
of my elders and my peers who are business leaders. When I interact with
business leaders of other countries and discuss their roles, I am convinced
that we are potent stakeholders who should play a decisive and exemplary role
in spearheading sustainable economic development, atleast among the regional
nations.
What is the role of the business
leadership in ushering in sustainable economic development through a focused
and cooperative approach? How to effectively channelize the critical mass that
regional trade organizations have into regional economic prosperity? The ground
reality, disappointedly, is far different from the steps taken by business
leadership to be Track II motivators and lead performers. Thus, as a
representative of trade and industry, I offer a mea culpa, as I am of the opinion that business leaders have not
been as pro-active as their position and status accords them and that they have
not been successful in bringing about fundamental changes in the policies of
their respective governments, bureaucracy and even judiciary.
Trade organizations have been, by and
large, transformed into personal fiefdoms of many leaders in the same manner
like most of the political parties who have adopted dynastic succession modes,
whose leaders have become cult personalities, or who have cliques that tightly
control the organizations' activities and policies. The stranglehold over these
is primarily responsible for the ineffectiveness of most of these
organizations. I shall highlight a few of these organizations and would
restrict myself to the regional scenario.
SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry
is composed of trade representatives of all eight SAARC nations. The
Headquarter is based in Islamabad and the President's office is rotated among
the member countries. SAARC CCI was touted as the focal point for promoting,
protecting, and presenting the interests of the SAARC private sector. Well and
good. SAARC CCI held elections, organized conclaves and seminars in various
cities, and prepared studies and reports for members as well as policymakers.
It was instrumental in getting approval for SAARC visas that were issued to
designated applicants. Pakistan's quota was 100 visas. This multiple-entry, one-year
visa enabled the holder to travel to SAARC countries without additional
paperwork or bothersome immigration requirements. However, what actually
transpired was that 80 to 85% of the visas were issued to the same people who dominate
and who may or may not be doing bilateral trade with other SAARC countries. The
ruling elite in each country seldom accommodated genuine businessmen.
Despite the significance of SAARC CCI,
the bare fact is that the leadership succumbed to the dictates and dynamics of
the political, bureaucratic, and military exigencies and thus gradually lost
its effective importance. One unbearable reason is that there is only a facade
of synergy, in short, more talk than action about cooperation, harmony and
mutual understanding of issues. The policymakers rarely accept the decisions
taken at various conclaves and thus pragmatic solutions are waylaid and, even
if accepted by the regional political leadership, are seldom implemented.
The efforts of the private sector are
further hampered by the lack of seriousness in working towards attaining an
all-inclusive regional economic integration program that would lead towards a
common approach in assuring sustainable development of the South Asian nations.
It is widely accepted that this region is the least integrated region in the
world. The attitude is focused on self-benefits rather than combining resources
and experiences for the overall development of all the countries.
The South Asian region has severe
energy deficiencies, high poverty figures, escalating cross-border conflicts,
and demanding domestic constraints and pressures that have ensued into an
environment of distrust and disharmony. While the political and military
establishments are engrossed in their own spheres, the onus of ushering in
sanity should have been on the economic stakeholders, that is, the business and
industry leadership.
The global dynamics are in a rapid
changing mode. Regional economic blocs are integrating their economies and
finding workable and acceptable solutions to their contentious issues among
themselves. This development has enabled the countries in these regional blocs
to address the myriad domestic and international dimensions both individually
or from a common platform. ASEAN, EU, NAFTA, MERCOSUR, SCO, etc are vivid
examples. SAARC regional bloc is oscillating between a stagnant level and a
diminishing course. The concept of shared challenges is unheard of within
SAARC.
The past few years witnessed a flurry
of activity in the normalization process of Indo-Pak trade and investment
relations. The signals emanating out of the trade bodies as well as from
political corridors were encouraging and positive. The two Prime Ministers, Narendra
Modi and Nawaz Sharif, were known as corporate oriented and both desired trade
normalization. This gave impetus to the private sector leadership to strike
while the iron was hot. At this present moment in time, although Indo-Pak
bilateral trade is moving along supplemented by an increase in informal trade,
the business leadership have become silent spectators or have retreated into
their shells. There are no revolutionary initiatives under consideration and
thus no apparent advancement in removal of Non-Tariff Trade Barriers, granting
of Non-Discriminatory Market Access by Pakistan to India, no progress in
issuing licenses to banks to set up branches across the border, no modalities
of allowing investment in each other's countries, and no concrete steps to
reduce informal trade. At the same time, the India Pakistan Joint Chamber of
Commerce and Industry has become dormant, the India-Pakistan Joint Business
Council has lost its luster, the Mumbai-Karachi Joint Chamber of Commerce and
Industry is just on paper, and there are no delegations from FPCCI, FICCI, CII
or local Pakistani and Indian Chambers.
Over in Afghanistan, President Ashraf
Ghani was billed as an economic czar and his initial pronouncements were
directed towards peaceful co-existence and economic deliverance. Another grand
opportunity for business leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nevertheless,
when events became unsettling for the political governments in each of these
countries, the back-pedaling commenced and camaraderie was hijacked while
menacing rhetorical outbursts became the common every day event. This was the
moment for private sector, especially Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Business Council to
catch the bull by its horns. The depressing truth is that the private sector
leadership became invisible bystanders rather than strategic participants who
could have rallied the decision makers by becoming active anchors instead of
passive players.
There is still a vacuum that needs to
be filled, and it is high time the dormant regional business leadership shapes
up, wakes up, and sheds double standards and hypocrisy. Business leaders of
South Asia have to make an immediate paradigm shift. They have to stress their
role as prime stakeholders. They have to persistently lobby not only with their
own political governments but also from a joint platform to reduce tension, to
create harmony, and to seriously tackle the issues that have made SAARC
ineffective and a waste of time. Business leadership must become the 'tipping
point' because once over this point, the stronger positive results from
regional cooperation would push the region to a higher growth trajectory,
thereby generating beneficial impact in support of cooperation and integration.
They must sincerely address the four key elements of regional economic
integration, i.e., integrated SAARC market, seamless physical connectivity,
financial cooperation, and shared vulnerabilities and risks.
Business leaders must remove existing
barriers and roadblocks by ensuring that the concepts of economic policy,
technical and business innovations, information technology, human resource
development, diplomatic and military conflicts, and regional economic
integration are not just debated and discussed but are implemented in real time
and accepted by all SAARC member countries
The private sector must learn,
understand, and promote what the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 are and,
why these are imperative for them, their motherland, and their fellow citizens.
The SAARC Heads of Government Conference in Islamabad in 2016 could become the
game changer if all countries really want to bring about lasting peace,
economic prosperity, and sustainable well-being of the denizens of all eight
SAARC countries. This is the hope because there is no other practical way to
achieve the goals. Business leadership must take comfort from Alexis de Tocqueville, the French
thinker and historian who very aptly stated that, "Trade is the natural enemy of all violent passions. Trade loves
moderation, delights in compromise, and is most careful to avoid anger."
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