Saarc
Bilateralism among SAARC nations:Trade & Investment The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or SAARC was created to promote economic integrity and cooperation among 7 South Asian nations namely India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. The Association was formed in 1985 with the aim to ensure social and economic development of the member countries. However, over the years it has been seen that SAARC mainly worked towards development of economic relationship among the SAARC nations. Attempts are also on to further trade relations with the member nations of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) and the European Union. Over the years, there has significant improvement in the trade relations among the seven SAARC members. The focus has been shifted to get access to the markets of the other members.
Rise in Bilateralism among SAARC countries: Despite the sincere attempts of the Association, there are several factors that stand in the way of economic integrity among the SAARC nations. The clashes between India and the neighboring countries have prevented the SAARC members to make the most of the economic benefits derived from the Association. This has prompted the South Asian countries to go for bilateral trading activities instead of getting involved in multilateral trade agreements. However, the Association is expected to take more proactive steps to improve the economic relationship among its members. Besides devising policies for economic integration, SAARC is supposed to function as a medium to facilitate discussions among the South Asian nations. Seminars and conferences are going to be helpful measures for promoting cross border trade and investment. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is not multilateral in the real sense of the term. Bilateralism is disguised as multilateralism in SAARC. At a time when the world is
Rise in Bilateralism among SAARC countries: Despite the sincere attempts of the Association, there are several factors that stand in the way of economic integrity among the SAARC nations. The clashes between India and the neighboring countries have prevented the SAARC members to make the most of the economic benefits derived from the Association. This has prompted the South Asian countries to go for bilateral trading activities instead of getting involved in multilateral trade agreements. However, the Association is expected to take more proactive steps to improve the economic relationship among its members. Besides devising policies for economic integration, SAARC is supposed to function as a medium to facilitate discussions among the South Asian nations. Seminars and conferences are going to be helpful measures for promoting cross border trade and investment. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is not multilateral in the real sense of the term. Bilateralism is disguised as multilateralism in SAARC. At a time when the world is