*************************************************************************************

The world is now at the fag end of this century and all eyes are set to herald the advent of the 21st century. As the world gets ready to say Adieu to the 20th century, there is a need to reflect and ponder on the achievements, on the failures, on the wars and battles, on the trampling of human rights, on the genocide of innocent denizens of the planet called Earth, on the accelerated development of western countries, on the subjugation of the economies of low-income countries, on the dominance of the Asian Tigers, on the starvation of the natives of the Saharan region, on the continued oppression in many lands, on the arrival of the golden rays of democracy, on the paving of the information super highway, on the establishment of the global village, as the past nearly ten decades have been tumultuous and tranquil, the preceding ninety six years have witnessed glory and infamy, the previous 1154 months have seen construction and devastation. It is then, with calculated but nervous optimism, the world is gearing up to advance into the next 100 years.

The stage is all set to shatter the economic blockades, to destroy parochial xenophobia, and to shred protectionism blankets from the frontiers of all countries. The stage is set to bring forth a cohesive and pragmatic scenario which will usher in a new wave of cooperation and harmony. The stage is set to introduce far-reaching structural reforms in the global trade regime which will be instrumental in forging economic integration and universal prosperity. There is the enveloping new trade order called the World Trade Organization which envisages the development of the world into one global market where the criteria will be quality of products, where there will be emphasis on the rights of the citizens, and where there will be stress on the clean environment. At the same time, the influence of regional trade blocs will gain momentum and recognition. NAFTA, EEC, APEC, ASEAN, AFTA, SAPTA have and will become part of the trade lexicon.

The WTO conditionalities will make it imperative on the South Asian countries, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, to inculcate and introduce ideas of economic betterment thru mutual cooperative measures aimed to provide intra-bloc prosperity and also to counter inter-bloc diversity. It is then apparent that the SAPTA member countries formulate a blueprint of multilateral developmental indicators which will reflect the agenda of South Asian countries in trade on a bilateral basis, on a regional basis, and on a global basis.

The master plan must take into account the expertise of a particular country in a related field or industry. For example, there will be a need to set out a guideline so that the clout of one country in a particular field is utilized to spur up the deficiency of another country in that field. The agenda would include technology swap, technical information dissemination, joint ventures, access to home markets, common human resources application, regional exhibitions and conferences, etc. This will accentuate the process of cooperation and will play a determined role in countering the aggressive marketing and manufacturing strategies of other regional blocs.

The industries, initially highlighted, will be textiles, carpets, sophisticated electrical engineering, heavy mechanical industries, petrochemicals, sports goods, surgical goods, foodstuffs, software, etc. There will be a premier impact of quality and workmanship on the goods which will enter the global market. There will be a supreme influence of timely deliveries and correct execution of trade orders. There will be a preponderant importance of programs designed to enhance the levels of research and development of new products and processes. All these will determine the achievement or downfall of a country’s economic advancement.

The strategy for success will be also based on institutionalizing the contemporary concepts of opening of the frontiers to products from member countries, on the settlement of contentious issues between countries, and on the acceptance of the goods and services without resorting to front-loading duties and taxes so as to give a level playing field to constituents of the region.

The scheme will also include the development of the agriculture sector which will provide the foundation for sustaining the food requirements of the region. This sector also includes the poultry, dairy, and fishing elements too. A comprehensive program of regional cooperation will be necessary to induce the techniques of recent innovations to upgrade yield per hectare, to develop better varieties of different crops, to educate the agriculture community in the practical aspects of international marketing and distribution methodology. The sustenance requirements of members can be satisfied by mutually beneficial reliance among them so that the scourge of malnourishment, the distress of food content deficiency, and the affliction of pest-related diseases are overcome significantly.

The program will also delve into the advantages of a restriction-free travel facility for the citizens of the bloc. This will entail the systematic easing out of visa requirements, flashing out police notifying procedures, canceling off persona non grata nuisances from the statute books, removing bureaucratic hurdles, increasing tourist traffic, providing channels for more comfortable facilities, and encouraging the idea of joint ventures in tourism. At the same time, a cooperative undertaking for the publication and production of travel books and films, for the compilation of travel related data, and for the establishment of resorts and amusement areas are imperative. The freedom to contact and to have access to various areas must be encouraged. The emphasis should be on special benefits for tourists from the region.

The approach will also necessitate the establishment of confederations on industry level between the regional countries. The initial step would be to organize and hold seminars and conferences on industry-wise basis. This will help the flow of information and also provide product publicity. These meetings will,, undoubtedly, help members in obtaining state-of-the-art news about the activities of various units in that particular industry and will also facilitate the opening up of demand-related avenues. Furthermore, there will be channels to promote visits to different companies in different countries. At the same time, steps will be undertaken to organize exhibitions on industry basis so that the trade people as well as the general public are provided opportunities to educate them as well as to witness the displays of products etc.

On the employers organizations’ level, there is ample scope to foster close-knit cooperation on a multitude of activities. These area of cooperation may include :

• Exchange of labor market information.
• Exchange of officials of the employers’ organizations to study the functions and working of the organizations.
• Exchange of experts in industrial relations, personnel management, and labor market information.
• Exchange of publications, including monographs, prepared by each employer organization.
• Exchange of training curricula and also the exchange of experts in vocational training programs.
• Exchange of information on productivity improvement.
• Exchange of information on Occupational Safety and Health programs.
• Exchange of information on environment protection measures.
• Supply of information on important decisions of labor courts and higher judiciary.
• Modalities adopted by each employer organization in improving the working conditions and terms of employment of working children.

It would be pertinent to refer to the cooperation program initiated by the Nikkeiren International Cooperation Center (NICC), Tokyo, Japan, which is of significant importance to the employer organizations of the Asia-Pacific Region, more particularly to the South Asian countries. It envisages :

• Receiving delegations nominated by each employer organization in the fields of industrial relations, personnel management, and quality control circles in Japan.
• Holding seminars on various disciplines of industrial relations, personnel management, quality control, and other areas for the members of the employers organizations in the region.
• Collecting information on working hours and wages available in different countries of the Asia-Pacific Region since 1995, and which is updated and published every year and made available to the employer organizations. This is a pilot activity.

There is, therefore, the imperative need to develop regional cooperation to meet the challenges of the developed countries and also of those nations that are edging into the ranks of developing countries in the 21st century. It is then incumbent upon the countries to initiate bilateral talks to enforce cessation of hostilities, to implement programs to stop confontrational attitudes, and to introduce the process of accommodation of each country’s views regarding the contentious problems. Cases in point are the Indo-Pak imbroglio over Kashmir, and also the issue of claims by private individuals and businessmen of Bangladesh and Pakistan who lost their assets after the 1971 war. It is proposed that the employers’ organizations be appointed arbitrators by the respective governments so that the issue of private party claims are resolved.

At the same time there should be a collective approach and a joint response on various internationally related issues, especially the much talked about and discussed agenda of Social Clauses. The WTO proponents ,especially in the developed world have been clamoring for the inclusion of the issue of labor into the trade regime. This would, in their argument, neutralize the advantages of cheap labor, as it would call for uniform labor rights, a common minimum wage rate, prevention of the exploitation of special labor groups, such as child labor, bonded labor, prison labor, etc. Opponents of this idea expound the theory that these so-called Social Clauses which tend to link trade to such issues as environmental protection, etc., are nothing but ploys by developed countries to deprive these less developed countries of any advantage of cheaper labor. They term it as "protectionism in disguise". It is proposed that a Regional Labor Conference be held in different regional countries on a rotation basis, before the International Labor Conference in Geneva, to adopt a common and unified stand on the agenda of the ILC.

The cooperation syndrome should also include the introduction of joint economic activities, including joint ventures, so that there is a chance of regional benefit which will be paramount to the development of the region. This pooling of resources and activities coupled with a vast network of information sharing will provide the required impetus to bring to a crescendo the economic success which will usher in an era of prosperity. Indigenous production and development of products will be another area of focus. This will also include the development of local technologies with the aim to utilize these for the improvement of products and also for the setting up of productivity standards. A substantially major contribution can be envisaged in the Human Resources Development sector. This can be given utmost importance because the favorable cooperation of the industry largely transforms into a developed employee roster. Moreover, a systematic vocational training plan for the whole region will ensure an upgradation of the worker’s skills and adaptability. Management training programs will culminate into a well-versed manager who can be the medium for the specific industry’s improvement, quality-wise, productivity-wise, and profit-wise. There is a vital need to cooperate in matters such as vocational training, harmonious industrial relations, and other related issues like working conditions, terms and conditions of employment, etc.

The South Asian countries will have to seriously consider all the ramifications of the clauses of the WTO agreement and their effects on the economies of this region. The impact of WTO has to be measured in terms of the present scenario and then formulating the defensive strategy to be adopted to play ball in the arena of WTO. There is a solid chance of a initial setback to the domestic production and even on the local consumption of finished goods. There may be several instances of non-competitiveness which have to be dealt with on individual country-base or even region-wide. The enforcement of Social Clauses will have to be tackled on a war-footing basis because this will eventually mean the difference between the opening up of new markets and, on the other hand, the blockade of goods into those countries that demand acceptance of and adherence to the articles of these Social Clauses.

Furthermore, it will also entail the conception of a regulatory mechanism on regional basis to regulate the product competition among the countries, the usage of subsidies to prop up the various industries, the effects of dumping of products at bargain rates, and the restrictive business practices in some of the countries. There has to be prime emphasis on prohibiting subsidies or rebates on exports so that there is no disproportionate leverage at the expense of another country since this may create unemployment problems, social disparity, and imbalance in rights and benefits,

A keen competition is on between countries to capture a piece of the foreign investment market. The foreign investor brings in much-needed money and provides additional employment opportunities in the host country. The phasing out of trade related investment measures will free the foreign investors from being forced to use indigenously manufactured or produced material and they will not be compelled to depend on local material for their products. The provision of special benefits to foreign investment can be a cause of intense competition among member countries and thus there has to be some sort of a system so that the foreign investors do not take undue advantage from this intense competition among regional nations.

The Pakistany viewpoint is directly geared towards the evolution of all measures and programs that have an inherent design fabricated towards the involvement of South Asian employer organizations in promoting regional cooperation which will form the basis of a mutually beneficial and prosperity oriented scheme of affairs. The arrival of the 21st century and the application of the WTO clauses are juxtaposed at a very momentous period of time. The fact of the matter is that the success of a country’s economic policy will largely depend on imbibing the nectars of the prosperity envisioned by the global trade regime. It will also be imminent that moving forward, after adopting the subtleties of the WTO clauses, will ensue in a clear and bright future for the denizens of the region. And this will be more possible if there is sincere cooperation at all levels.

As Ralph Tyler Flewelling remarked on the matter of cooperation : "Neither province, parish, nor nation; neighborhood; family, nor individual, can live profitably in exclusion from the rest of the world."