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Free trade agreement brings hope to southern Asia

Free trade agreement brings hope to southern Asia The landmark South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, which holds the promise of boosting international commerce and trade in one of the world's poorest regions, officially came into effect yesterday. The free-trade pact is considered to be by far the most important decision taken by the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) during its 20-year existence. Nearly 23 percent of the world's population lives in the SAARC region which is just three percent of the world's area. SAARC nations including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan initially agreed to the

S. Asia free trade agreement comes into force

S. Asia free trade agreement comes into force The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Wednesday announced the formal enforcement of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement with effect from Jan. 1, 2006, state run Radio Nepal reported Thursday. The agreement on SAFTA was signed in Islamabad during the 12th SAARC summit in January 2004, and all the member states have since completed all formalities including ratification, the radio quoted a press statement released by SAARC Secretariat as saying. The entry into force of the agreement thus launched the SAFTA,

India to launch South Asia free-trade pact

India to launch South Asia free-trade pact The Indian cabinet approved on Thursday the introduction of a pact with its neighbours from Jan. 1 to promote free trade and economic ties in South Asia, home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s population. Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said India would initially cut customs duties by five percent for goods imported from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal after the launch of the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement. Although some member countries are yet to ratify the pact, Indian officials said New Delhi would go ahead with implementing the agreement from Jan.

South Asia Free Trade Zone Comes Into Effect

South Asia Free Trade Zone Comes Into Effect The South Asia Free Trade Agreement, or SAFTA, came into effect Sunday, paving the way for free trade of goods among the member nations. India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said implementation of the accord will benefit the entire region - a home to 1.5 billion people. Under the agreement, the more developed member countries - India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - will reduce their customs duties to between zero and five percent by the year 2013. Less developed Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives and Nepal have until 2018 to do the same. Leaders of the South Asian

South Asia’s moment in the sun

South Asia’s moment in the sun The South Asia Free Trade Area (Safta) has been so long in the making that it is hard to believe the deal is actually done. And the seven Saarc countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and India—home to more than a fifth of mankind, have finally ironed out the glitches that held up progress all these years. The rewards could be immense. Intra-regional trade in Saarc is a minuscule 6% of the total external trade of the region. Compare this with the 22% intra-regional trade within the Asean area or the comparable figure of 65%