Leaders of seven South Asian nations will start a summit meeting in Islamabad today to clear the way for a free-trade accord and boost economic growth in a region that is home to half the world's poor.
Leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC, are gathering after a gap of two years because tension between India and Pakistan, which account for four-fifths of South Asia's US$650 billion economy, forced a postponement of the summit in January last year. The grouping also includes Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives.
The three-day summit, the 12th such meeting, will also provide a platform for India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to re-open dialog on issues such as the dispute over Kashmir and improve relations after the two nuclear-armed countries came close to their fourth war in July last year.
"There is a growing realization in South Asia that they have to integrate economically -- it's a question of survival," said Ajai Sahni, director of research group Institute of Conflict Management in New Delhi.
"The short term will be dominated by the hangover of politics. Eventually all will fall in line and sign the accord," Sahni said.
The grouping was formed in 1985 with the stated aim of turning the region into a free-trade area. Trade among the seven countries, home to more than 1.5 billion people, is US$4 billion annually, and may more than treble to US$14 billion if restrictions are removed, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimates.
A free-trade accord may be possible at the summit with foreign ministers of the seven countries having reached agreement in preliminary meetings in Islamabad.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said that under the agreement, the developing members of SAARC -- Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka -- would cut tariffs to between zero and five percent within seven years of the start of the agreement.
The region's least developed states -- Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives -- would reduce tariffs to between zero and five percent within 10 years of the start of the agreement.
But, each member state will be allowed to maintain a list of sensitive products on which tariffs will not be reduced. The list will be finalised between now and the date on which the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement is expected to come into force, Kasuri said.
Intra-Asean trade makes up 63 percent of Southeast Asia's trade, while trade among EU nations account for two-thirds of the trade of member countries.
Trade among South Asian countries, 70 percent dominated by India, is barely 5 percent of the region's total trade.
"The free-trade agreement is the main issue during the summit," said Masood Khan, Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman.
"It will not only give a new life to Saarc, but also provide an opportunity to India and Pakistan to have a closer cooperation," Khan said.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS