Dissolving investment barriers

The third ministerial meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) hosted by India commenced on March 3, 2008 in New Delhi. Although SAARC - The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation, comprising India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Pakistan, hasn’t had the desired impact that NAFTA (North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) has made, changes are clearly in the pipeline.

Business Line spoke to the Minister of State for Commerce, Jairam Ramesh, on a range of issues that have hobbled this grouping from achieving tangible gains. Ramesh had visited Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and is due to visit Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Afghanistan before end-June 2008.

“India’s globalisation is incomplete without closer engagement in South Asia. India cannot do bypass surgery on South Asia-this notion in India that we can be a global player and couple our economy with the American economy bypassing our own neighbours - we can’t couple with America and decouple from South Asia - is not possible. We need to understand that the foundation of our globalisation rests on closer regional cooperation in goods, services and, most importantly, in investments,” Ramesh said.