Performance Evaluation Of The Development Of South Asia Regional Economic Cooperation

The formation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in December 1985 was hailed as a major diplomatic breakthrough in South Asia. But the slow progress and modest achievements of SAARC over the past 2 decades have evoked different reactions among different people. To some, SAARC is merely a talking shop, which can provide nothing more than a lip service to the various issues of peace and development in the region. To others, SAARC may not be a panacea to the region's problems, but its existence has certainly provided an opportunity for the policy makers, administrators, and experts to meet regularly and hold informal dialogues on important bilateral and regional issues. Additionally, the ratification of SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) by all SAARC members in 1995 and their decision to establish a SAARC Free Trade Area (SAFTA) have generated guarded optimism about the relevance of SAARC in promoting regional economic cooperation in South Asia.Will economic interests drive the South Asian countries toward greater cooperation? Given the decades of mutual hostility and distrust, to what extents will the South Asian countries are able to achieve economic interdependence? The answer to these questions requires a thorough understanding of the performances SAARC achieved in the last 20 years, especially in the economic cooperation field. Accordingly I have divided this paper into 4 main parts. First, I introduce some...