The group of experts (GoE) meeting on South Asia Trade in Services
(SATIS) has ended without any breakthrough as participating countries
refrained from making clear commitments on services that will open for regional trade.
Officials from the eight member countries of South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) who met in Kathmandu couldn´t make any commitment from their respective countries regarding liberalization of services that is aimed at boosting regional trade.
“Apart from Bhutan and India, it seemed that other countries attended the meeting without doing any exercise at home to make their commitment to facilitate regional trade liberalization,” said an official attending the meeting.
The two-day meeting, which concluded in Kathmandu on Wednesday, was supposed to garner commitments from all eight member countries to boost regional service trade under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) pact.
“The meeting ended with a decision to meet in Kathmandu again in September with the hope to garner concrete commitments from member countries,” the official told Republica.
The SAFTA ministerial council meeting held in Dhaka in April 2006 had assigned to a panel of experts to furnish a report on viability of incorporating the service sector into the regional trade framework.
“Member countries have already liberalized their service sector to a certain extent under the General Agreement on Trade in Services in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Further commitments are forthcoming under the regional framework,” reads a study report published by CUTS International, an India-based organization working in the sector of consumer unity and trust.
According to the official, the meeting also decided to submit proposals and requests to SAARC Secretariat for further liberalization in service trade by August. “The proposed meeting in September will discuss on the proposals and requests made by member countries,” the official added.
SAARC members had agreed to enhance regional trade under free trade agreement in 2004 before enforcing the SAFTA regime in 2006 with the main objective of creating jobs and reducing poverty through trade integration and liberalization of service sector for investment.
Officials from the eight member countries of South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) who met in Kathmandu couldn´t make any commitment from their respective countries regarding liberalization of services that is aimed at boosting regional trade.
“Apart from Bhutan and India, it seemed that other countries attended the meeting without doing any exercise at home to make their commitment to facilitate regional trade liberalization,” said an official attending the meeting.
The two-day meeting, which concluded in Kathmandu on Wednesday, was supposed to garner commitments from all eight member countries to boost regional service trade under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) pact.
“The meeting ended with a decision to meet in Kathmandu again in September with the hope to garner concrete commitments from member countries,” the official told Republica.
The SAFTA ministerial council meeting held in Dhaka in April 2006 had assigned to a panel of experts to furnish a report on viability of incorporating the service sector into the regional trade framework.
“Member countries have already liberalized their service sector to a certain extent under the General Agreement on Trade in Services in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Further commitments are forthcoming under the regional framework,” reads a study report published by CUTS International, an India-based organization working in the sector of consumer unity and trust.
According to the official, the meeting also decided to submit proposals and requests to SAARC Secretariat for further liberalization in service trade by August. “The proposed meeting in September will discuss on the proposals and requests made by member countries,” the official added.
SAARC members had agreed to enhance regional trade under free trade agreement in 2004 before enforcing the SAFTA regime in 2006 with the main objective of creating jobs and reducing poverty through trade integration and liberalization of service sector for investment.
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