International Conference on

Promoting Intraregional Trade in South Asia: Role of SAARC

Organised by
M.K.Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad
March 26-27, 2011

Background
Regionalism in the international scenario can be explained as the conscious effort on the part of
the countries of a particular region to form a sense of collectivity; in terms of economic
endeavours, political harmony and legal cooperation. This phenomenon of Regionalism assumed
great importance after World War II as a response to the prevailing international political
environment. But over the last five decades, different elements have contributed to a significant
evolution in the texture and patterns of Regionalism. From political motives, there is now
emphasis on inter-dependent Economic initiatives and other logistical support. Beyond just a
political arrangement, Regional Organizations are more and more becoming committed towards
regional development index, security concerns and legal cooperation. A very strong indicator of
this transformation can be inferred from the fact that the total number of Regional Trade
agreements notified to GATT increased from only 2 in 1948-54 to 32 in 1990-94. Thus it can be
said that the parameters and dynamics of regional cooperation are perhaps going to determine the
overall socio-political and economic climate of the world order.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) established in 1983 is the largest of
any regional organization in terms of sphere of influence; the combined population of its
member-states being more than 1.5 billion. Some of the primary objectives of SAARC are to
promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; to
accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region; to promote
and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia; to promote active
collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific
fields.

South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) was established in
Colombo in 1991. Having the status of a Regional Apex Body of SAARC, it is an association of
the legal communities of the SAARC countries comprising judges, lawyers, academicians, law
teachers, public officers and a host of other law-related persons. It is the product of the desire of
the members of the legal community to establish an association within the SAARC region to
disseminate information and to promote an understanding of the concerns and developments of
the region. The main thrust of its operation since its inception has been to bring together the legal
communities within the region for closer co-operation, development of understanding, promotion
of exchange of ideas and dissemination of information. Another of its fundamental objectives to
use and develop law as an instrument for social change and for building co-operation among the
peoples of the region.
SAARC is a latecomer to the family of third world regional organizations. So also, the RTA
experiment by SAARC is a more or less recent one. Spurred by the Indian market reforms in
early nineties, SAARC has moved to the trajectory of deepening regional integration process.
Much before India liberalized her economy; other countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh had deregulated their economies in varying degrees. However, given their smaller
economic size and viability, their ability to attract foreign capital, goods and technology
remained limited. Indias market reforms provided the needed thrust to facilitate greater intra and
extra-regional movement of capital, goods, technology and services. Hence, SAARC ventured
rather quickly to facilitate freer movement of the above factors by agreeing on preferential and
free trade arrangements.
SAPTA was the first experiment in pioneering a Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) within the
framework of SAARC. However, SAPTA offered a very limited scope for trade liberalization
and admittedly was not an effective building block to integrating trade between the member
countries. Yet, it had put in motion a pattern of promoting intra-regional trade through a
preferential regime, phase-wise. SAPTAs lessons, in the least led to another improvised regional
trade agreement, the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). SAFTA increased the scope
of regional trade, offered more tariff cuts and registered a modest increase in intra-regional trade
as a result.

However, even this second RTA lacks the mandate and prospect of ensuring greater relaxation of
trade relations between the member countries. In the words of a former Indian senior Foreign
Service bureaucrat SAFTA is a wholly inadequate framework for trade liberalization within
South Asia. According to him very low range of tariff cuts, long periods of tariff reductions and
higher number of goods on the negative list are the major constraints in realizing a genuine free
trade regime in South Asia. (Rajiv Sikri, Challenges and Strategy, Rethinking Indias Foreign
Policy, 2009)
RTAs need to be strongly backed by a fair degree of economic and political complementarities
and more importantly mutual trust between the subscribing countries. RTAs outside the South
Asian region which are widely recognized as successful agencies of regional economic
integration such as the European Union and ASEAN have first succeeded in overcoming their
intra-regional rivalries and suspicions before designing frameworks of regional integration.
SAARC lags much behind these regional groups in subordinating bilateral disputes to the larger
regional goal of promoting mutual interdependence. Above all, it is the regional political
mindset, fear of Indian economic and political domination that restricts trade liberalization
process in South Asia.
SAARCs retarded progress therefore lies in its major political and economic limitations, which
could be defined as structural. Politically, apart from the known security mismatch between
India, the regions predominant power and the lesser powers, more recent global security
discourse into which South Asia, as a major haven for terrorism is drawn, further complicated
the prospect for establishing conducive environment for intra-regional economic interaction.
Secondly, South Asia populated by two thirds of the worlds poor is heavily dependent on the
external economic world. About 90% of the regions economic needs are sourced from outside
the region. Moreover, major regional economies, India and Pakistan, have lesser economic
interest in the region and have developed greater extra-regional economic linkages.
Yet, all the member countries are unanimous on sustaining their only regional organization.
Fortunately, no country in the region so far threatened to leave the SAARC. Their level of
expectations and dependence on the association, though differ. As an implicit admission of
SAARCs limited role as a multilateral choice for increasing regional trade, member countries
are trying to achieve the same through bilateral free trade arrangements such as the India-Sri

Lanka and India-Bangladesh FTA/PTA. Successive SAARC summits have sufficiently

recognized the need for mutual confidence building and resolved to deepen integration in such
vital sectors as trade, investment, transport, energy and poverty alleviation. For the SAARC
countries deepening the regional integration process through a definite and time-bound policy
measures is not only necessary but is imperative.
About M.K. Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre
The M.K. Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre at the NALSAR University of Law, established since
2003 is one of its kind in the entire country; in terms of its objectives and also in terms of
facilities. It has its own fully equipped building for conducting lectures, conferences, meetings,
moots, research and other activities. It has credible Scholarship Programmes, Fellowship
Programmes with special emphasis on Post Graduate education and also Training Programmes
for Law Teachers/Law Officials/J udges of SAARCLAW Region. It also has the primary
objectives to hold annual SAARCLAW conferences and conduct Research Projects on various
aspects of interface of law on issues concerning the SAARC region. It also seeks to Publish
Newsletter, J ournal and Books on SAARC. It also seeks to promote faculty-student exchange
programmes with other Universities in the SAARC Region.
In furtherance of its mandate objective, the M.K. Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre has planned an
International Conference onPromoting Intraregional Trade in South Asia: Role of SAARC.
The dominating themes of the conference would be analyzing and coming up with solutions for
various current and pertinent legal issues in the Region in terms of the Region as a whole and
also in terms of bilateral concerns.
Scope of the Conference:
The proposed international conference will debate the major problems faced by the SAARC
countries in promoting intra-regional economic integration. It is the objective of the conference
to debate the opportunities and challenges of identifying and implementing the policy regimes
aimed at deepening integration in trade, investment and service sectors. Focus of the conference
will be on the following identified issue areas.
1. Multilateral Trading System (WTO) versus Regional Integration: South-South trade
promotion strategies in Asia; SAARC and the Asian Regional Groups: Comparative perspectives

2. Regional Trade Agreements in SAARC: SAPTA and SAFTA experience: Trade

liberalization strategies; tariff levels and schedules; Product coverage; Trade creation and
diversion effects; Bilateral Trade Agreements (BTA) versus RTAs.
3. Trade Facilitation Measures: Cross border trade and movement; NTBs; Visa regime;
Customs rules and transit facilities
4. Patterns of Intra-regional Investment: Investment climate; Capital flows and sources; FDI
Sectors; Role of private sector; J oint ventures
5. Expansion of SAARC: political and economic objectives; prospects for economic
development in expanded SAARC; Economic role of extra-regional powers (US, EU, China,
J apan) in SAARC
Schedule of the Conference:

The Conference will be held on March 26-27, 2011.

March 6: Last date for receipt of Title and Abstract of Paper

March 25: Submission of Full paper (A 4 size, 1.5 space, font 12 in Times Roman script)

Screening Committee of the conference will adjudge the Abstracts and confirm participation of
delegates. Short-listed participants will be offered second class AC train fare and local
hospitality (boarding, lodging, airport/railway station)
CONTACT

Prof. P.V.Rao Prof. V.Balakista Reddy
Conference Director Professor of International Law &
Visiting Professor, Coordinator, SAARCLAW Centre
M K Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre balakista@gmail.com
pvraoj@yahoo.com

M.K.NAMBYAR SAARCLAW CENTRE
NALSAR University of Law
J ustice City, Shameerpet
Hyderabad: 500078, A.P.India
Tel: +91-40-23498214
Fax: +91-8418-245161/ 174,
Cell: +91-99486 60916
Email: saarclawcentre@gmail.com
Website: http://saarclawcentre.org/