Pakistan will host top level 73rd Executive Committee and 22nd General Assembly meetings of the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Islamabad on February 6. Vice President Saarc Chamber Pakistan chapter, Iftikhar Ali Malik while talking to media here Friday said that SAARC Chamber President Suraj Vadiya will chair both meetings separately and all Vice Presidents from member countries including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan and Pakistan along with their delegations will attend the meetings.
About agenda of meetings, he said SAARC Chamber's proposed initiatives to be taken during the current year would be discussed and finalised with consensus. He said that arrangements in connection with forthcoming three-day SAARC Business Leaders Conclave scheduled to be held in Kathmandu from March 16 will be reviewed. Chamber General Secretary Hina Saeed and Deputy Secretary General Zulfiqar Ali Butt will brief the participants to hold the conclave in befitting manners. He said the strategy would also be evolved for formation of SAARC Chamber and China Business Council and after threadbare discussion it would be approved unanimously and all stakeholders would be taken into confidence prior to its formal approval. He said that new applications from SAARC member countries for membership of SAARC Chamber would also be considered for approval.
Iftikhar Ali Malik said it had also been decided by the SAARC Chamber to celebrate its silver jubilee in all member countries to send a message of goodwill, strengthening the bonds of brotherhood and promotion of intra trade besides fully exploiting all indigenous resources in the region in addition to exchange of mutual visits. "South Asia can become super economic hub if all indigenous resources are fully exploited and ironing out political and geographical differences among the SAARC member countries especially result oriented parlays between two nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan to make the region a driving engine for the world economy," he added.
He said South Asia has second highest intra-regional trade costs and underlined the need for a South Asian economic union with greater connectivity and forward movement on pending agreements among member states including rail, energy, highways, cargo and ferry services among our ports. "The problem is that our land, air and maritime connectivity still very limited. Inadequate transport facility, complex procedures of customs clearances at the border, limited crossing points for entry of goods, expensive trans-shipment followed by a poor flow of payment system," he added.
Iftikhar Ali Malik said the intra-regional trade figures for South Asia are disappointing as trade in the region constitutes only 1.4 percent of the total world imports and 1.2 per cent of exports, whereas merchandise trade is only 27.9 percent of GDP, the lowest in the world. He said that world development indicators have revealed South Asia houses 1.79 billion world's population thus representing a large workforce, tremendous business and investment opportunities.