Call to establish branches of banks on inter-Saarc basis

Branches of different banks should be established on inter-Saarc basis and a joint strategy to handle International affairs in International Institutions like World Trade Organisation (WTO), United Nations Commission on Trade And Development (UNCTAD), UNO, World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), must be chalked out.
This was proposed in a function organised to mark the 19th Anniversary of the signing of the Charter establishing the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) at the Hailey College of Banking and Finance, Punjab University here on Wednesday.
Speaking on the occasion, renowned economist and Principal of the college, Khawaja Amjad Saeed said that clear-cut principles for Saarc were spelled out at the time of its establishment and those require firm commitment by all the Saarc countries.
The co-operation among Saarc countries cannot be a substitute for bilateral and multi-lateral co-operation but shall complement them. Further, such co-operation shall not be inconsistent with bilateral and multi-lateral obligation. Principles, on which co-operation should be based, include: sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, and non-interference in internal affairs of other states and mutual benefit, he added.
The foregoing principles represented strong conceptual logistics on the basis of which South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) could strongly be visualised by 2010. All the Saarc countries must strictly adhere to the above principles as a mark of respect to each other and help realise the goals for which Saarc had been established, he maintained.
Moreover, the story of Intra-Saarc trade was also a matter of regret as based on World Development Report 2004, share of Saarc in global exports was only 1.07 percent. Association was a sleeping giant, which must get up and rise to the occasion. This share was a dismal story compared to the population of Saarc, which was 22 percent of the world, he added.
Khawaja explained that several work packages had been assigned in Saarc and topics of trade and investment were allocated to Pakistan. He suggested that people to people contact through tourism should be developed without much of hassles of obtaining visas.
Tariff and non-tariff barriers should immediately be removed to pave the way for expedition Inter-Saarc trade opportunities. Educational linkages between several Saarc continues should be established for sharing cross cultural experiences and sharing each others experiences, he asserted.
Earlier Secretary General SAARC, Q. A. M. A. Rahim visited the College and addressed the students. He stated that mistrust was the main cause of Saarc failure.