Why South Asia must cooperate (Shared vision needed to achieve the SDGs 2030)

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 Why South Asia must cooperate (Shared vision needed to achieve the SDGs 2030)

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• The ratio : South Asia holds 25% of the world's population while  having only 3.5% of its total land area. The nations in this region are  tightly packed together, and share a common cultural-historical bond.  Yet, it is the least regionally integrated region in the world.
• How least integrated : Intra-regional trade is only 5% of the total world trade all south Asian nations do. Intra-regional investment is  only 1% of region's overall global investment. Today, BIMSTEC and BBIN are being pushed, but SAARC is nearly dead. [ CONCEPT - BIMSTEC ]
• Poverty and inequality : South Asia's per capita income is 9.64% of  the global average. More than 30% of the world's poor live here.
• Cooperation, Collaboration and Convergence (CCC) : Since all nations  in S. Asia face common development challenges, to achieve the SDG goals  of 2030, CCC is a must.
• MDG versus SDG : The 8 millennium development goals were to be  achieved by the developing nations with the help of developed nations,  but the 17 SDGs are more universal, inclusive and integrated in nature.
• [ CONCEPT - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2030 ]
• 17 Goals and 169 Targets : No nation can achieve these SDGs in  isolation as all are inter-connected, and need regional efforts. The  core challenges are - industry, innovation, zero hunger, gender  equality, education, decent work etc. Climate vulnerabilities too are  high.
• The SDG Index 2018 : In this ranking, only Bhutan and Sri Lanka are in top 100. India is at 112th position. 
• Indian performance today : 

1. It is doing well on Goals 1, 6, 12, 13 and 16 - no poverty, clean  water and sanitation, sustainable production and consumption, climate  action, & peace, justice and strong institutions, respectively. 
2. It is doing badly on Goals 2, 5, 9 - zero hunger, gender equality,  industry innovation and infrastructure. A similar situation exists for Pakistan and Bangladesh. These 3 top  economies of South Asia can work together on common goals.

• A common approach : SDGs related to energy, biodiversity,  infrastructure, climate resilience, capacity development are  transnational, so policy harmonisation will work well.
• Sources of financing SDGs : There are five - public sector, private  sector, public-private partnership, external sector, NGOs. Can South  Asian nations not increase intra-regional FDI for SDGs? It is time to  do it quickly.
• Summary : South Asia is least integrated regionally, and to successfully achieve the 2030 SDGs, it needs to be most integrated quickly!

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