Recipe to expand Saarc trade.

New Delhi, Jan. 19: Saarc member countries believe greater participation of private companies in the cross-border business will enhance the collective growth of the region.

Trade between the members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), excluding Afghanistan, stood at about $14.5 billion in 2010-11. Afghanistan joined the group only in May 2012.

“Movement of people should be smooth in the Saarc region. We need to work collectively for our economic development. Private sector can play a major role in enhancing regional integration,” Mozammel Shinwari, Afghanistan’s deputy commerce and industry minister, said at a Saarc conference organised by Ficci.

In a report, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) said the Saarc region should take advantage of the growing international demand for manufactured goods by developing integrated regional value chains.

“Similarly, the Saarc region should encourage growth and integration of services trade, which, in turn, will lead to greater people-to-people interaction, especially in sectors such as tourism,” it stated.

Nepal’s commerce secretary Madhav Prasad Regmi expressed similar views and called for regional co-operation among member nations, particularly the private sector.

Ficci stressed on doing away with the rules that curb cross-border business throughout the region.

“The basket of traded goods in South Asia is quite concentrated. This is largely because of multiple reasons such as the large sensitive lists in South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), restrictive rules of origin and preferences, protectionist policies and a host of tariff and non-tariff barriers,” it said.

Sensitive lists need to be pruned to encourage the trade of more products to fully exploit the region’s potential. This will help to generate employment opportunities in the region, Ficci said.

Land links

India’s commerce secretary S.R. Rao said there was a need to enhance trade through land, particularly between India and Pakistan. “India cannot prosper alone. Its prosperity is closely linked with the prosperity of its neighbours. Through enhanced trade, we can build the confidence in the region. Together we can work for mutual prosperity of our people,” Rao said.

Murtozaa Reza Chowdhury, additional secretary in the ministry of commerce, Bangladesh, said trade within Saarc nations was very low.

“Participation and collaboration of the private sector (of the South Asian region) is very important for integration of the region. Regional groups such as the Asean are doing very well,” Chowdhury said.

Source : telegraphindia.com