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Need to boost SAARC trading, says Ahluwalia

Finance Secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia has stressed the need for an appropriate investment regime in view of the liberalisation of intra-SAARC trade, which can take into cognisance changes envisaged over the next 10 years.

He was addressing the first South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation meeting on promotion and protection of investments in New Delhi recently.

The meeting considered two alternatives for increasing intraregional investments: expedite the conclusion of bilateral agreements on promotion and protection of investment among the SAARC member-countries, and conclude a SAARC regional investment promotion and protection agreement.

In order to have a good dispute settlement mechanism in the region, India offered to prepare a concept paper for operational workplan and framework for such a mechanism.

It was felt by the member countries that it would be useful if investment fora could be organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during the forthcoming second SAARC Economic Cooperation Conference and the second SAARC trade fair in Karachi during February 16 to 20, 1998.

It was also suggests that the constituent national federations of SCCI should establish special mechanism to facilitate SAARC regional investments.

The meeting also recognised the importance of exchange of information and agreed that information should regularly be circulated by the member countries regarding inward investments, outward investments, and other related statistics through the SAARC secretariat.

Information relating to the investment regime in each member-country should also be circulated by the SAARC secretariat. It was agreed that consultations on macro-economic policies of the SAARC member-countries, having a bearing on investments, should be considered by the meetings of finance and planning ministers and finance secretaries of the SAARC member countries.

It was also decided to have second meeting on investment promotion and protection, the date and venue of which would be decided by the SAARC secretariat in consultation with the member countries.

It may be recalled that the ninth SAARC summit meeting held in Male in May 1997 had agreed that SAARC efforts to enhance trade and economic cooperation in the region would be strengthened by initiating steps to promote and protect investments and adoption of measures promoting SAARC joint ventures.

UNI