Kathmandu, November 13

The 10th series of the South Asia Economic Summit will kick off in the Capital from tomorrow, which will see eminent economists, policymakers and civil society leaders of the region congregating to interact on economic integration of South Asia under the theme of ‘Deepening Economic Integration for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia’.

South Asia is known as the least integrated region of the world due to lack of connectivity. Intra-regional trade and investment among South Asian countries is just around five per cent of the total trade and investment of South Asian countries with the countries beyond the region.

South Asia Economic Summit is a civil society initiative of the think-tanks in South Asian countries and is organised in different countries of South Asia. Five South Asian think-tanks — South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal; Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh; Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India; Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan; and Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Sri Lanka — take turns to organise the annual event in one of the SAARC countries.

The government — National Planning Commission and the Ministry of Commerce — have also supported the summit that is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday and will conclude on Thursday.