New Delhi: Day two of the 15th South Asia Conference on Achieving Regional Economic Integration in South Asia’, organised by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) on 15 January 2023, had Special Addresses by Ms. Navita Srikant, Independent Expert, Forensic Accounting & Anti-Corruption, India.
Chairing the session, Director General, MP-IDSA, Amb Sujan R. Chinoy underlined regional stability as a pre-requisite for economic prosperity. Terrorism is a barrier to regional stability as it has socio-political impact on the livelihood and wellbeing of peoples, he said.
Amb Chinoy also spoke about the use of counterfeit currency and complexity of overlapping mobile signals and connectivity across porous borders that is hampering the efforts to stop terror activities.
Ms. Navita Srikant, in her address described terrorism as a bottleneck to economic integration in the region. She said that an inclusive socio-political approach is required to deal with terrorism and terror financing. Terrorism has a direct and indirect impact on the economy and eliminating terrorism is a must for economic development and growth in South Asia. The process might be lengthy but would eventually lead to economic stability in the longer run, she reiterated.
Terming ‘peace, security and prosperity’ as the main ingredient for economic development of a region, Ms Srikant said that countries embroiled in the act of terrorism are impeding the wellbeing of their own people and the region as a whole. Terrorist activities not only obstruct Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but also disrupt bilateral/multilateral trade by creating market uncertainty and constraining supply chains, said Ms Srikant, insisting that only peaceful co-existence and collaboration can result in an overall development of the region.
Speaking about the positive role that civil societies can play in addressing the issue of terrorism, Ms Srikant said that civil societies can connect with their respective governments through dialogue, engagement and public communications to strengthen and expand terrorism prevention efforts. The civil societies can create awareness and shape public opinion through outreach, training, and international exchanges, she concluded.
There were two other working sessions focusing on digital public infrastructure in India and beyond and challenges to trade and commerce in South Asia and a concluding session on the road ahead, where the participants shared their perspectives on various themes associated with the subjects, with a consensual view that the way forward lies in closer dialogue at multi-track levels to remove the impediments on the way to achieving regional economic integration.
The 15th edition of MP-IDSA’s flagship conference brought together academics, experts, policy makers, practitioners and media representatives from India’s neighbouring countries in a common endeavour to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation on issues of mutual interest and concern.
Socio-political Inclusive Approach Required to Counter Terrorism: Navita Srikant