Daily Times

LAHORE: SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry senior Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik Friday said a new kind of political vision and stronger political will were essential tools for south Asian leaders to develop regional “gateways” and “hubs” to expand trade and commerce in both regional and global markets, foster regional value chains and work to build competitiveness by ending deadlock for the betterment of the masses.

Talking to Ruwan Edirisinghe, SAARC Chamber president in Colombo, via telephone, Iftikhar Ali Malik said the vision would help unlock the potential of the region’s resources, besides providing new guidelines to its member nations in their efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals.

“We will accelerate and sustain the growth momentum of recent years by unlocking the hitherto untapped potential of region’s natural resources, industry and infrastructure through sub-regional cooperation,” he added.

Criticising India for excluding Pakistan from other regional organisations and halting the SAARC progress, he said no durable peace and prosperity was possible without participation of Pakistan.

He said the solutions to all problems lie in the reactivating of SAARC and India should realise that any organisation such as the South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) cannot be made effective until Pakistan’s participation.

He said India and Pakistan both should enhance their role to make conditions congenial for meaningful cooperation in south Asia. “This challenge can be met only if India and Pakistan and all neighbours work in concert for the benefit of their people.”

He continued: “No other region needs harmonious and cooperative relations among its states more than the SAARC countries as we have been rated very low in terms of customs and cross-border trade.” He said SAARC CCI provides the best opportunity to discuss the common challenges and solutions, and each country can agree to address on mutual understanding and interest.

He said such regular interactions between the customs officials would help clear obstacles for trade in the region. “The customs officials should discuss ways to help companies and individuals do cross-border business faster and at lower cost, create jobs and help create international economic ties,” he added.

“If the region hopes to meet its development goals, it is essential to make a priority of closing its huge infrastructure gap. He said for this purpose $2.5 trillion was needed to spend on infrastructure in South Asia by 2020 to bring its power grids, roads and water supplies up to the standard needed to serve its growing population.

“South Asian governments should translate commitments into action, develop regional infrastructure and remove “unspoken barriers”, including sensitive lists and a range of domestic taxes,” he concluded.

Published in Daily Times, June 16^th 2018.