SAARC commerce secys agree to expedite tariff liberalization

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.

SAARC commerce Secy to review regional trade, cooperation

Commerce Secretaries from eight South Asian countries are meeting next week to review current status of all committed regional cooperations and ways to enhance trade integration and cooperation under South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative.

"The meeting will be held in the Maldives from July 14 to 15," said Lal Mani Joshi, commerce secretary, who will represent Nepal in the fifteenth meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation (CEC) under the SARRC secretariat. "It will also review the implementation of trade facilitation measures," he told Republica. 

Though regarded as crucial body, the CEC is meeting after a gap of three years. During the meeting, the commerce secretaries are scheduled to discuss a range of issues including regional agreement on investment protection, avoidance of double taxation and SAARC trade fairs, among others.

The top commerce officials of SAARC, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan will also discuss the drafts of different agreements being worked out to promote investment and trade in the region.

"Fundamentally, the meeting will review progresses achieved so far and also develop new action plans for further improving the implementation of commitments made by the SAARC Summit," Joshi shared. 

Among others, the agendas of the meeting is shortening the ´sensitive list´, which include items on which the SAARC member countries have refused to trade at zero tariffs under South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) pact.

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 reducing the items from the list. "The upcoming meeting of the CEC will also touch on that matter since it aims to further liberalize trade on services and goods," Joshi said.

SAARC Finance Ministries’ Meeting This Month

Fifth South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC)’s finance ministries meeting is going to be held at the end of this month (January 2012). A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of Nepal revealed that the meeting is going to happen in the capital city of Dhaka. “The agendas for meeting are yet to be finalized,” source told me.

As per the development of issues in this region, corruption, anti-money laundering and growth will be the most likely agendas for discussion. SAARC is a regional forum to discuss on various issues of development, politics.