EU - SAARC: Comparisons and Prospects of Cooperation. ZEI Discussion Papers: 1998, C 15

Bhargava, Kant K. (1998) EU - SAARC: Comparisons and Prospects of Cooperation. ZEI Discussion Papers: 1998, C 15

Abstract

[Introduction]. The very title of this essay implies a certain exercise in comparisons and forecasts. Comparisons can be odious. Forecasts may at times go wrong, but they are starting points for understanding and planning processes. In the present age of information technology, where events may, in comparison to the past, telescope time, a searching look into the distant future is a practical necessity in the realm of possibility. An innovative approaches to Europe-South Asia relations may become apparent against the backdrop of a sufficiently long span of time and in the context of comparisons between the European Union (EU) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). This Paper covers: A brief comparative History of important developments in Europe and South Asia over last three centuries; Europe and South Asia on the eve of the twenty-first century; Comparisons between EU and SAARC; Cooperation possibilities between EU-SAARC; Parameters of a compact between EU-SAARC.