ISDS Case Map
SAARC
The government has finalised a draft of a preferential trade agreement (PTA) to be signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan within the next month.
SAPTA and SAFTA never took off is because all these countries were never able to focus on trade, keeping politics aside.
Leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or BIMSTEC have promised to make a “peaceful and prosperous” Bay of Bengal region on the 22 years of inception of this grouping of seven countries.
Newly appointed external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday rued the fact that South Asia is among the least inter-connected regions in the world, but efforts are being made to make the region more integrated. Referring to BIMSTEC, which connects South Asia with Southeast Asia, Jaishankar said that India has strong synergy with other BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) states.
While India has tactfully used the platform to diplomatically isolate Pakistan, it must also tap into BIMSTEC's immense potential for development, connectivity and trade in the region.
Even as India and others boycott SAARC, they must accelerate economic integration. India should address the concerns of countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal while investing in regional connectivity.
Eight finance ministers from South Asia pushed for the fast-track formation of the South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) to ensure larger investment inflows, higher trade volumes and energy generation.
The commerce ministers will discuss on enhancing intra-SAARC trade flows under SAFTA and vision for further trade liberalisation by reducing non-tariff and para-tariff barriers.
Trade dialogue between India and Pakistan — officially in the cold storage for almost three years — is set to be revived, now that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has broken the political ice with Islamabad with his Christmas visit to Lahore.
Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a strong pitch for greater integration of the South Asian region, even as she underscored the need for speedy implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) agreement.
