SAARC wheels try to do what deals failed
|
| Posted
:
Thu, 01 Mar 2007 06:18:00 GMT |
| By
:
Sudeshna Sarkar |
| Category
:
Asia (World) |
| News Alerts by
Email ( click
here ) |
|
|
|
|
|
Kathmandu, March 1 Though the meeting of SAARC commerce ministers this month failed to reach a breakthrough in trade ties, the business community in the region is hoping wheels will achieve what deals failed to when the first SAARC car rally kicks off from Bangladesh on March 15.Business chambers in the region are hoping the 30-day marathon journey covering the seven member countries - Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives - will boost connectivity, people to people relations and investors' confidence.Floated by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka last year, the SAARC car rally is being implemented by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in partnership with corresponding business groups in the six other member countries as a public-private partnership programme.What started off as a sports and social event is now being shaped as a boost to regional business as well with each member organising a mini business summit on the days the rally passes through it.In Bangladesh, as the rally with 14 cars flags off from Cox's Bazar, the business meets will start with a conference on the promotion of trade and commerce cooperation.While Bhutan is hosting a meet on information and communication technology (ICT), Nepal hopes to bring together energy experts from the seven nations for a seminar on energy efficiency, including hydropower. India is hosting a conference on the CEOs of South Asia while Pakistan is focusing on SME (small and medium enterprises) development.'The rally will be a showcase for SAARC trade and tourism,' says Chandiraj Dhakal, chief of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry that is organising the Nepal lap of the rally together with Nepal Tourism Board and the ministry of tourism, culture and civil aviation.'The motorcade will pass through the cities that are popular tourist destinations to highlight their potential.'In Nepal, besides the capital, the rally will cover the sunny city of Pokhara, a popular tourist destination, and Lumbini in southern Nepal, where the Buddha was born.However, it remains to be seen how effective the rally will be in promoting business or even good relations in the region.Two of the member states, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are currently passing through fresh turmoil. Bhutan has been locked with Nepal for nearly two decades in a dispute over the repatriation of more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in Nepal.This month, the much-awaited meeting between the commerce ministers of the region to boost the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement ran into a wall again due to the continuing feud between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi tacitly warning it could revoke the benefits extended to Islamabad if they were not reciprocated. (c) Indo-Asian News Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
UN condemns 'heinous crime' that killed 39 Filipinos
New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned the brutal killing of at least 39 Filipinos in violence-related elections in a southern province of the Philippines. Ban said in a statement that he condemns this heinous crime committ...
Pakistan announces reforms to end insurgency in south-west region
Islamabad - Pakistani government on Tuesday announced a new reform package for south-western Balochistan province in a bid to end a separatist insurgency there. The government hopes the proposed economic, political and constitutional reforms package...
Afghan president to form new cabinet in 'near future'
Kabul - The new cabinet for President Hamid Karzai, who was re-elected in a poll marred by massive fraud, is expected to be announced in a near future, his spokesman said Tuesday. Karzai, who was sworn in for a second five-year term on Thursday, ha...
Bangladesh begins first trial of soldiers for mutiny
Dhaka - The trial began Tuesday against the first group of 3,500 Bangladeshi border troops who mutinied against their commanders over pay and rank in February, officials said. A three-member special court headed by Major General M Mainul Islam, direc...
Sri Lankan authorities arrest refugees fleeing to Australia
Colombo – Sri Lankan officials captured at least 142 people at sea who trying illegally reach Australia in four fishing trawlers, a Navy spokesman said. The group included both minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese. The boats, which had taken off fr...
Philippines declares emergency rule after political violence - Summary
Manila - The Philippines Tuesday declared emergency rule and dispatched additional security forces to a southern province as the death toll in the country's worst-ever election-related violence reached 46. Police investigators dug up 24 bodies in sha...
Pakistani troops kill 18 militants near Afghan border
Islamabad - Pakistani forces killed at least 18 militants in an offensive launched on Tuesday against the rebels believed to be behind a recent wave of suicide bombings in the north-western city of Peshawar, a security official said. Hundreds of regu...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
