Thaindian News

Addu (Maldives), Nov 11 (IANS) Anything but summitry! As the sun caresses the coral-blue waters of the Indian Ocean encircling 1,190 islands of the Maldives, diplomacy and statecraft are the last things on your mind. But even as you slip into a reverie, an eight-nation summit is unfolding across the high seas, birthing what some are calling the ‘Addu spirit’.

The phrase has not been tossed about much yet, but could soon become a buzzword for letting the sun, sea and sands do the talking between India and Pakistan and among South Asian nations, bringing them closer in spirit and mind.

If the prophecy whispered in the tangy sea breeze here on the morning of Nov 10 about the two neighbours heralding “a new chapter” in their blow hot-blow cold ties becomes real, Addu, the southernmost Maldivian island, could become the promised land for peacemakers.

The dream boat may crash against the jagged rocks of reality or drown in a tsunami of doubts, but then this is what the Addu spirit is about: giving the 1.5 billion people of South Asian a chance to dream big.

In a sense, South Asia is in stronger shape than before and so are India’s relations with its hitherto prickly neighbours. When the eurozone is sunk in a seemingly terminal recession, South Asian economies are growing at a healthy rate of over six percent, making the region the new magnet of global interest - a fact pointed out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his address at the 17th SAARC summit and attested by the presence of global heavyweights like the US, China and the EU as observers at the summit. Imagine nine observers at an eight-nation grouping’s summit, and you get the picture.

Logistical nightmare

But here lies the danger of dreaming big, and the reverse side of the Addu spirit. Despite so much going for the region, connectivity - in a geographical and not a metaphorical sense - remains a major hurdle. And the SAARC summit in the Maldives, the smallest South Asian country with a population of 300,000, less than the population of Karol Bagh in west Delhi, is a microcosm of promises and challenges ahead.

The summit is spread across five islands, making it a logistical nightmare for the organisers and a fatiguing drill for leaders, diplomats and the huge contingent of media. Rarely have visiting heads of state and government spent so much time in moving around from one place to another, changing planes, cars and boats.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for example, had to switch from his special Air India Boeing plane to a smaller aircraft after landing in Male Wednesday afternoon. When he landed at the airport in Gan, one of the islands in Addu Atoll, he was ferried in a speed boat to Shangri-La resort islands where all SAARC leaders are staying.

On Thursday, he spent the first half of the day in back-to-back meetings with the leaders of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Post-lunch, he and all leaders were taken in speed boats to Maraadhoo island and then in a motorcade to the Equatorial Convention Centre in Hithadoo, a drive of 15 minutes, for the inaugural session of the summit.

He came back to Shangri-La resort via the same route and headed to Hulhumeedhoo Island for the state banquet Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed hosted for visiting leaders. On Friday morning, he heads again to the Convention Centre in Hithadoo in a jetty, comes back, and then in the evening flies to Male for bilateral talks from Gan with the Maldives president.

Kite-flying

The spouses of leaders too had their share of traversing across water, air and road. They had to take a 40-minute plane ride to reach Fuvamullah, which otherwise takes one and a half hour by boat, where they soaked in a medley of songs and dances. They had lunch together and indulged, quite literally, in kite-flying - a popular sport in all South Asian countries. It symbolised soaring hopes of regional integration and contained a hidden warning that all that big talk at SAARC should not become just kite-flying.

Media blues

While leaders and their spouses managed to ride out the realms of air, water and earth in VIP comfort, the paparazzi and journalists were challenged and had to do their criss-crossing across the islands, grabbing sound bytes and a bit of food in the evening.

After a long day, Indian journalists had a 9 p.m. briefing by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, who kept them busy writing stories close to midnight. The only consolation for them was a well-equipped media room facing the blue waters, teasing their jaded minds.

Let the Addu spirit prevail!

(Manish Chand can be contacted at manish.c@ians.in)