Commerce secretaries of SAARC countries have agreed to speed up the process of tariff liberalization and integration of the region through harmonization of communication, transport, capital market and movement of people.
The 15th meeting of Committee on Economic Cooperation (CEC) under South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held in the Maldives this week also held discussion issues of least developed countries (LDCs) and non-LDCs.
“The meeting was fruitful toward making the regional market more integrated,” Naindra Prasad Upadhaya, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supply (MoCS), who was also present in the meeting, told Republica on Wednesday. “The officials from the region have agreed to harmonize customs operation that will lead to the smooth movement of goods and cargos in the region.”
Officials from the LDCs of the region including Nepal and Bangladesh urged officials of non-LDCs to remove items that are export interest of LDCs from their sensitive list, said Upadhyaya.
The meeting also reviewed the of status sensitive list and agreed to work together to shorten it in the near future.
SAARC member countries have included products that they do not want to trade at zero tariff under South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) pact in the sensitive list. The working group of SAFTA that met in Kathmandu last month to shorten the list had failed to make any headway after the countries remained divided over the modalities of shortening the list.
The two-day meeting also touched on issues related to connectivity, communication and movement of people in the region.
