Kathmandu,
Nov. 14:
Minister
for Finance Gyanendra Bahadur Karki on Tuesday urged the member countries of
the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to shorten the
list of sensitive goods and boost intra-regional trade.
Although
the SAARC countries keep reiterating that intra-regional trade should be promoted,
more than 50 per cent of the goods produced here are included in the sensitive
list of the countries.
Addressing
the 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES X) in the capital, Karki
said that South Asia could be a global hot spot for trade, connectivity and
development.
Karki
called for the application of low cost information and communication technology,
cross-border transmission lines and transport connectivity to expedite the
development process in the region.
"This
region is facing adverse effects of climate change, which have resulted in huge
loss of human capital and property, therefore, we need to stand together to
cope with it," he said.
Vice-Chairman
of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr.Swarnim Wagle stressed the need
for putting in credible building blocks for a common market place in the
region.
"We
have a population force as powerful as the industrial revolution. We should
work collectively for infrastructure and energy development and create common
financial institutions," he said.
According
to him, the region should lower the cost of trade, be more business friendly in
order to revive the manufacturing sector, and enable building blocks for a
customs union which will lead to a common market.
"We
need to increase cross border flow of goods, services and people in order to
achieve the goal of poverty reduction and South Asian Economic Union,"
Minister for Commerce Min Bahadur Bishwakarma said.
The
three-day SAES X is being organised by the NPC and Ministry of Commerce in
partnership with South Asia Watch on Trade Economics and Environment (SAWTEE).
Organised
with the theme 'Deepening economic integration for inclusive and sustainable
development in South Asia', the summit will deliberate on issues like trade,
regional cooperation, climate change, inclusive growth, disaster risk
reduction, transit and connectivity, intellectual property, investment,
innovation and small and medium enterprises, energy cooperation, regional value
chains and improving economic measurement.
The
summit was launched in 2008 as a premier regional platform for discussing and
analysing economic and development issues and challenges facing the South Asian
countries, and advancing the cause of regional integration and cooperation.
According
to the organisers, the SAES X aims to identify, analyse and prioritise
opportunities and challenges in relation to deepening regional economic
integration to achieve inclusive and sustainable development in South Asia, and
generate actionable ideas towards that end.
The conference is said to create synergies between
sub-regionalism and regionalism, enhance regional cooperation on climate change
adaptation and disaster risk reduction, assess e-trade readiness, and unleash
the potential of intra-regional trade and investment.
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