Towards Regional Integration in South Asia: Promoting Trade Facilitation and Connectivity

摘要

The final report of the ninth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, held in Maldives in the year 1997, framed by the Group of Eminent Persons, reflected the vision of SAARC transforming into a South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) by the end of year 2020. However, during all these years, this vision was far from turning into reality. However, this does not mean that regional cooperation among SAARC member countries has faded out. Lack of evidence of strong cooperation at the regional level the economic and trade coherence has definitely increased on bilateral and sub-regional levels as an outcome of various unilateral, bilateral and multilateral agreements among SAARC nations, which has eventually led to formation of free trade area in the region known as SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area).