Regional Cooperation In South Asia Research Articles

South Asian Regional Cooperation: Problems and Prospects

PEACE IN OUR view is not merely abstention from war, but an active and positive approach to international problems. Leading first to the lessen ing of present tensions through an attempt to solve our problems by methods of negotiation, and then to a growing cooperation between nations in various ways—cultural, and scientific contacts, increase in trade and commerce, exchange of ideas experience and information

PROSPECTS OF TRADE EXPANSION IN THE SAARC REGION

The Developing EconomiesVolume 30, Issue 1 p. 3-23 Free Access PROSPECTS OF TRADE EXPANSION IN THE SAARC REGION Mangat Ram AGGARWAL, Mangat Ram AGGARWALSearch for more papers by this authorPosh Raj PANDEY, Posh Raj PANDEYSearch for more papers by this author Mangat Ram AGGARWAL, Mangat Ram AGGARWALSearch for more papers by this authorPosh Raj PANDEY, Posh Raj PANDEYSearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1992 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1049.1992.tb00001.xCitations: 2 We are grateful to Professor V. R. Panchmukhi, Director, Research and Information System for the Non-Aligned and Other Development Countries, New Delhi; Professor P. R. Bramhananda, National Fellow, ICSSR, New Delhi; and anonymous referees for their scholarly comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Our thanks are also due to Professor Vikas Mishra and the senior most Professor T. N. Kapoor for their very useful and incisive comments. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat References 1 Allen, R. L. Integration in Less Developed Areas, Kyklos, Vol. 14, Fasc. 3 (1961). 2 Anderson, K. Prospects of Trade Growth among Pacific Basin Countries, Developing Economies, Vol. 21, No. 4 (December 1983). 3 Balassa, B. The Theory of Economic Integration ( London : George Allen and Unwin, 1962). 4 Balassa, B. Trade Liberalization and ‘Revealed’ Comparative Advantage, Manchester School of Economic and Social Studies, Vol. 33, No. 2 (June 1965). 5 Bangladesh, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “ A Paper on the Proposal for Regional Cooperation in South Asia” (1980). 6 Brown, A. J. Applied Economics: Aspects of World Economy in War and Peace ( London : George Allen and Unwin, 1949). 7 Clement, M. O.; Pfister, R. L.; and Rothwell, K. J. The Theory of Customs Union,” in Theoretical Issues in International Economics ( London : Constable, 1967). 8 Cordon, W. M. Economics of Scale and Customs Union Theory, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 80, No. 3, Part I (MayJune 1972). 9 De Rosa, D. A. Trade and Protection in the Asian Developing Region, Asian Development Review, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1986). 10 Drysdale, P. Japan, Australia, New Zealand: The Prospect for Western Pacific Economic Integration, Economic Record, Vol. 45, No. 3 (September 1969). 11 Drysdale, P., and Garnaut, R. Trade Intensities and the Analysis of Bilateral Trade Flows in a Many-Country World: A Survey, Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Vol. 22, No. 2 (February 1982). 12 International Monetary Fund. Direction of Trade Statistics. 13 Kojima, K. The Pattern of International Trade among Advanced Countries, Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Vol. 5, No. 1 (June 1964). 14 Krauss, M. B. Recent Developments in Customs Union Theory: An Interpretive Survery, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 10, No. 2 (June 1972). 15 Lipsey, R. G. “The Theory of Customs Union: A General Survey, Economic Journal, Vol. 70, No. 279 (September 1960). 16 Makower, H., and Mortan, G. A Contribution Towards a Theory of Customs Unions, Economic Journal, Vol. 63 (March 1953). 17 Mikesell, R. F. The Theory of Common Markets as Applied to Regional Arrangements among Developing Countries,” in International Trade Theory in a Developing World, Ed. R. Harrod and D. Hague ( London : Macmillan & Co., 1963). 18 Panchamukhi, V. R. Prospects of Trade Expansion in SAARC Region,” paper presented in The Symposium on Regional Cooperation in South Asia, Asian Development Bank, Manila , 1987. 19 Pazos, F. Regional Integration of Trade among Less Developed Countries, World Development, Vol. 1, No. 7 (July 1973). 20 SAARC Secretariat. “ South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation” (brochure), Kathmandu . 21 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. From SARC to SAARC: Milestones in the Evolution of Regional Cooperation in South Asia (1980–1988), Vol. 1 ( Kathmandu , 1988). 22 United Nations, Statistical Office. Commodity Trade Statistics (Statistical Papers). 23 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Handbook of International Trade and Development Statistics. 24 United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Foreign Trade Statistics for Asia and Pacific. 25 Viner, J. The Customs Union Issue ( New York : Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Press, 1950). 26 Wadhva, C. D. India: 1. Trade Relations,” in Regional Economic Cooperation in Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) by C. D. Wadhva et al. ( Ahmedabad : Allied Publishers, 1987). 27 Yamazawa, I., and Watanabe, T. Industrial Restructuring and Technology Transfer,” in Challenges of Asian Developing Countries: Issues and Analyses, Ed. S. Ichimura ( Tokyo : Asian Productivity Organization, 1988). Citing Literature Volume30, Issue1March 1992Pages 3-23 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Intra-Saarc Trade: A Dwindling Feature

Most of the South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan,1 India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka formed a loose association SARC (South Asian Regional Cooperation) in the year 1980. Through various meetings and conferences spread over five years under the banner of SARC, an agreement was signed in December 1985 for the formation of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. SAARC member-countries have chosen some areas of cooperation like, agriculture, rural development, meteorology, telecommunication, scientific and technical cooperation, health and cooperation activities, transport, postal services and sports, arts and culture. The most recent development that has taken place concerns the meeting of Group of Planners on a yearly basis to review the studies made under the aegis of SAARC in the following areas2 (i) Analysis of trade regimes vis-a-vis industrial protection policies of member countries; (ii) Quantification of the benefits of intra-regional trade expansion including transit problems of land-locked countries and mechanism for financing short duration trade imbalances; (iii) Studies to explore the possibilities of joint ventures in agriculture, industry and energy; and (iv) Studies of existing national systems of industrial promotion and regulation including assessment of design and consultancy capabilities and post-harvest technologies. Inspite of these, the subject of cooperation for intra-regional trade expansion still remains outside the SAARC programme. There is little cooperation in the SAARC region in the sphere of trade. Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka (among other Asian countries) are signatories to the Bangkok Agreement under which each member country gives certain preferential treatment to the co-signatories in the field of trade. This Preferential Trade Agreement signed in July 1975, under the auspicies of ESCAP covered multilateral trade cooperation but has made very limited impact on expanding intra-regional trade among the three countries listed above. Apart from this, the SAARC countries are the members of Asian Clearing Union (ACU), set up in 1975, with a limited coverage of membership, transactions and credit facilities in this region. In spite of SAARC countries' participation in two major schemes of multilateral trade cooperation, the region lagged behind the rest of the world in expanding their trade. Over a period of time, the share of intra-regional trade in this region declined in comparison to world trade. The fall in the share of infra-regional trade can also be seen in a relative sense. Thus, the dependence of these countries upon developed countries has increased and foreign trade has failed to act as an engine of growth in this region. The aim of this paper is to examine: (i) Declining export and import growth rates of SAARC countries; (ii) SAARC countries' aggregate exports and imports share in world exports and imports and its burgeoning trade balances', and (iii) Intra-regional exports and imports share of SAARC countries and SAARC share in its total exports and imports to the rest of the world.

South Asian Regional Cooperation: Its Implications for Nepal

Research Article| April 01 1985 South Asian Regional Cooperation: Its Implications for Nepal Sridhar K. Khatri Sridhar K. Khatri Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Far Eastern Survey (1956) 25 (4): 426–442. https://doi.org/10.2307/2644227 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Sridhar K. Khatri; South Asian Regional Cooperation: Its Implications for Nepal. Far Eastern Survey 1 April 1956; 25 (4): 426–442. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2644227 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAsian Survey Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1985 The Regents of the University of California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Primacy of the Political: South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) in Comparative Perspective

Recent attempts at exploring avenues of cooperation within South Asia on a multilateral basis and efforts to institutionalize these preliminary attempts in South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) are a manifestation of the ingrained feeling among the ruling elite and opinion makers in the Indian subcontinent that there is an inherent geographic and cultural unity in South Asia (plus the fact that India until 1947 functioned as one economic unit) that needs institutional expression of some sort, however vague or feeble this expression might be. There are three additional factors promoting this (however half-hearted) drive toward what is called regional cooperation. The first is the demonstration effect of such institutionalization in other parts of the world, particularly the Third World, from Latin America through the Gulf to Southeast Asia. The second factor is related to the hope that economic cooperation among the seven South Asian countries would somehow enhance their capacity for collective bargaining with the rest of the world, especially the developed world. The third is the feeling among the smaller South Asian countries that a multilateral forum which includes them as well as India would (a) take some of the rough edges off their bilateral relationships with India, which have been uniformly uneasy and occasionally hostile, and (b) would increase their capacity for collective bargaining vis-A-vis India on issues that hitherto have remained basically bilateral in character.

South Asian Regional Cooperation: Its Implications for Nepal

South Asian Regional Cooperation: Its Implications for Nepal

South Asian Regional Cooperation: Progress, Problems, Potential, and Prospects

South Asia has carried dubious distinction of being the only region in world without even a rudimentary regional organization1I for too long. This may partly be attributable to internal contradiction of region-unity vs. diversity. If South Asia is perceived as one homogeneous colonial unit of British Raj, then absence of a regional framework for cooperative interaction is surprising; but digging a little deeper, one uncovers heterogeneity of South Asia and is even more surprised at progress region has actually made toward institutionalizing regional cooperation since initiative was taken by late President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in 1980. That South Asia is among last to attempt politics, or more precisely economics, of cooperation is not without logic. Whatever happens or fails to happen in context of South Asian cooperation is inextricably woven into matrix of Indo-Pakistani relations. Since independence in 1947, politics of India and Pakistan can unhesitatingly be characterized as politics of conflict, for which absence of any cooperative machinery was more welcome than its presence.

The Primacy of the Political: South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) in Comparative Perspective

The Primacy of the Political: South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) in Comparative Perspective

South Asian Regional Cooperation: Progress, Problems, Potential, and Prospects

South Asian Regional Cooperation: Progress, Problems, Potential, and Prospects

Regional cooperation in South Asia

Regional cooperation in South Asia

South Asian Regional Cooperation

South Asian Regional Cooperation

SARC, But No "SHARK": South Asian Regional Cooperation in Perspective

IN MAY 1980 the Bangladesh president, Ziaur Rahman, proposed a South Asian summit of the seven South Asian states-Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka-to organize a regional forum. They accepted such a forum-South Asian Regional Cooperation-quickly, despite the initial reservations of India and Pakistan. However, both these countries agreed to attend the meeting of the foreign secretaries in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in April 1981. Thus, countries with varying regime features, strategic perceptions, motivations and, above all, at different stages of economic development, decided to join a forum whose overall objectives and modus operandi were unexplained. The South Asian Regional Cooperation (popularly known as SARC) scheme was formally launched in August 1983 by the first joint meeting of the foreign ministers of the seven South Asian states. Preparations for it had been made by five meetings of their foreign secretaries, who identified certain areas of cooperation, taking pains to handle regional intricacies carefully. Indeed, South Asia is truly a paradox: trends of cooperation and conflict are identifiable at the same time. Knowing that the main South Asian states, India and Pakistan, are locked in conventional as well as emergent strategic conflicts, the foreign secretaries (particularly of the smaller states) were careful to select Colombo and Kathmandu as the venues for their first two meetings. Nine areas of cooperation were selected at these meetings, including two added in Kathmandu-agriculture, rural development, health and population, transport, scientific and technical cooperation, telecommunication and meteorology, postal services, sports, and arts and culture.' In addition, study groups were created in each country to examine in

Indian Development Strategy and South Asian Regional Cooperation

The process of the South Asian regional cooperation (SARC) concept, mooted by Bangladesh President Gen. Zia-ur-Rahman in April 1980, entered a crucial phase following the recently concluded Ministerial Meeting of South Asian Nations in July at Male in the Maldives. Though much has been achieved by way of forging regional cooperation in agreed areas much still remains. India's special position in the sub-continent necessitates more than ever the need for fuller cooperation in the processes of regional development strategy.

South Asian Regional Cooperation

South Asian Regional Cooperation

South Asian Regional Cooperation Meeting of Foreign Ministers, New Delhi—1–2 August 1983

South Asian Regional Cooperation Meeting of Foreign Ministers, New Delhi—1–2 August 1983