Not a free trade area
Business Standard / New Delhi
July 05, 2006
"The long-pending South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) pact finally came into force on July 1, sans fanfare. That should cause no surprise, since none of the seven countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives) that constitute the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and thus the membership of SAFTA, anticipates any major economic benefits immediately, though these might well come in the medium to long term. One possibility is the development of a regional energy grid, as some of the member-countries are surplus in power and other forms of energy. In theory, SAFTA can also pave the way for cross-border movements of labour, services and investment.
Unfortunately, all this is a far cry at the moment as even the movement of goods is blocked by issues that are mostly unrelated to trade and commerce. As it is, the total trade between these seven countries accounts for less than 5 per cent of their combined international trade. This is in sharp contrast to the situation in Europe, where mutual trade is about 55 per cent of the total trade of the countries in the European Union (EU). As such, even if SAFTA leads to a doubling or even tripling of intra-regional trade, its impact on the economies of these countries will remain limited."
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About Maldives
July 05, 2006
"The long-pending South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) pact finally came into force on July 1, sans fanfare. That should cause no surprise, since none of the seven countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives) that constitute the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and thus the membership of SAFTA, anticipates any major economic benefits immediately, though these might well come in the medium to long term. One possibility is the development of a regional energy grid, as some of the member-countries are surplus in power and other forms of energy. In theory, SAFTA can also pave the way for cross-border movements of labour, services and investment.
Unfortunately, all this is a far cry at the moment as even the movement of goods is blocked by issues that are mostly unrelated to trade and commerce. As it is, the total trade between these seven countries accounts for less than 5 per cent of their combined international trade. This is in sharp contrast to the situation in Europe, where mutual trade is about 55 per cent of the total trade of the countries in the European Union (EU). As such, even if SAFTA leads to a doubling or even tripling of intra-regional trade, its impact on the economies of these countries will remain limited."
=================================
Download Free Video Documentary
About Maldives
posted by Marek at 12:21 PM
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