CANADIAN PERSPECTIVES ON SOUTH ASIA

Donald Bobiash, Deputy Director, South Asia Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at Ottawa addressed an invited audience at the Delhi Policy Group on December 6, 2000.

Mr. Bobiash began by stating that despite the revolutionary changes taking place in the developing countries their image in the public eve remained negative. The western media is only now beginning to project a more balanced picture of the third world which for long has been synonymous with famines, strikes, sufferings without highlighting any of the success stories like the export surpluses of newly industrializing countries. That the world inhabitants are daily becoming aware of their potential to develop as individuals, communities and nation as they are today has been underestimated by the developed world, including Canada.

As early as 1968, Lestor Pearson, the former Prime Minister of Canada wrote a development study for the World Bank, which prophesied that after the developing world matures, the developed world and the international institutions would have to adapt to growing global economic imbalances. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who succeeded Pearson also had wide interest in the politics of the developing world. He was widely traveled in the developing world including India and China. Their outlook on the developing world greatly influenced Canadian perspectives on South Asia.

On the issue of what defined South Asia, Mr. Bobiash named all the seven SAARC countries and Afghanistan as constituting the region. Economic and Human development are the two significant areas which attract Canada towards South Asia. Hitherto it was the trade interest which defined Canada's view and definition of Asia which stretched till Japan and Indo-China. In the changing world of today a mature view was needed to deal with the developing world. The emphasis in the post World War period, was on transfer of knowledge and development of infrastructure where as now trade in ideas and resources is the guiding force in economic relations.

Bobiash indicated that, Canada's main emphasis on consolidating relations with India is on human development. Canada is trying to promote trade with India in the fields of transportation, mining, steel, agro-food. However, information technology is also greater significance. The important challenge now is to encourage a greater interaction between businessmen and business houses of the two countries. Presently the annual trade between the two countries stands at $21 million. This had witnessed a downward trend following trade sanctions imposed after the Pokhran. It nuclear tests conducted by India in May 1998.

Canada's reservation on India's nuclear tests emerged from its genuine concern on spread of nuclear weapons. Governments in Canada have to contend with the strong anti-nuclear sentiment in Canada. The speaker said that the anti nuclear stand was an strongly felt ideological issue in Canada. Bobiash expressed considerable reservations on the South Asian political scenario in the aftermath of the nuclear tests.

In response to this he was informed that the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan had opened up new nuclear thresholds and debates between nuclear haves and have-nots. The tests had led to instant reaction and intense anger from the nuclear countries as it had disturbed the nuclear equilibrium. However, as the reality of nuclear weapons with India dawned and the compulsions behind tests became clear, the hostile reactions have become less intense. The nuclear tests were conducted to obtain a defensive deterrent advantage. This becomes amply clear from India's nuclear doctrine. Similarly, a careful scrutiny of the Lahore Declaration signed between India and Pakistan reveals that more than 80% of the contents are devoted to nuclear risk reduction. Two elected Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan discussed the nuclear issues jointly engage in reducing nuclear risks. Various thinks tanks and people in their respective capacity are involved in managing nuclear risks. The Delhi Policy Group is engaged in a dialogue with the Islamabad Policy Research Insitute on nuclear risk reduction. All this is evidence of by India's commitment to nuclear restraint. However, the future would depend on the countries committed to disarmament such as Canada to create an atmosphere through language, rhetoric and action where nuclear restraint by all nuclear powers is forthcoming.