The 8th Meeting of the SAFTA Ministerial Council concluded in Thimphu, Bhutan in last July with a call for reduction in tariffs, non-tariff barriers, trade facilitation and establishment of the SAARC Development Bank. While nothing new came out from the last Meeting, the only striking factor is decision for setting up a Bank for SAARC Countries (SDB) with specific goal for regional infrastructural development in the country along with growth in trade as a means for attaining poverty reduction objectives in South Asian region which is a home for the worlds largest number of poor people. The idea of SDB is off course in line with recently announced BRICS Bank and SDB is likely to be endorsed at the 18th SAARC Summit scheduled in the last week of November next in Katmandu, Nepal. The proposed Bank can be a game changer for the SAARC Countries with ailing economies and may serve as an impetus to the clamour for greater regional economic integration. We must welcome such move. But two fear-factors are there. Would two big players of SAARC (India & Pakistan) be sincere in making it function properly? Our experience of SDF (SAARC Development Fund) is dismal because of its vague mandate for looking after diverse sectors through the purview of different windows. Would SDB be another timid initiative or it act as a trend-setter?
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 10:52:53 +0000
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