Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed on Thursday said the Saarc countries should make a tangible progress in tariff concessions and removal of other trade barriers faster to turn Saarc into an effective trade block. ‘Unless it’s done, the dream of Safta (South Asia Free Trade Area) to be a free trade area will remain a far cry,’ he said. The commerce minister made the call while addressing the eighth meeting of the Safta ministerial council in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, according to a message received in Dhaka.
Bhutanese prime minister Tshering Tobgay inaugurated the meeting, which was attended by commerce ministers, state ministers and representatives from the Saarc countries.
The commerce minister highlighted the huge potentials of Saarc nations, especially in enhancing trade and reducing poverty.
Even after eight years of implementation of Safta, he regretted, intra-Saarc trade is still insignificant compared to other trade blocks.
Listing the different barriers to trade in the region, Tofail, in this context, urged the member countries to come forward to remove those.
He also called upon all the member states to consider meaningful reduction of sensitive lists so that the products of export interest of the member countries, especially those of the LDCs, are removed from the sensitive lists.
Tofail underscored the need for concluding the ongoing negotiations in the service sector under Safta as early as possible to integrate service sectors into the Saarc regional economy.
Following the opening ceremony, the commerce minister along with other Saarc commerce ministers, had a group courtesy call on the prime minister of Bhutan.
The meeting stressed the need for concerted efforts of all the member countries for reaching the goal of economic integration of the South Asian region within the shortest possible time.
In the afternoon, the commerce minister had a meeting with the commerce minister of Nepal and discussed various bilateral issues of mutual interest including cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, hydro-power and connectivity.
Bhutan for the first time hosted the Safta ministerial council.
-With New Age input
