Gist of Editorials: Why South Asia Must Cooperate | GS – II


Relevance :  GS Paper  II


South Asia is a region of significant importance for international development.

The South Asia challenge

  • This is one of the world’s least integrated regions.
  • Intra-regional trade is a meagre 5% of the total trade.
  • Average GDP per capita is only about 9.64% of the global average.
  • The region faces myriad economic and environmental challenges.
  • Economic cooperation remains less than adequate.
  • SAARC has become unsuccessful in promoting regional economic cooperation.

Opportunities for South Asia

  • Regional initiatives such as BIMSTEC and BBIN can bring the countries closer.
  • Attaining the 2030 Agenda for SDGs provides enormous opportunities for cooperation.

Way forward

  • A regional strategic approach to tackle common development challenges.
  • Policy harmonisation can play a pivotal role in increasing efficiency to achieve SDGs.
  • To address institutional and infrastructural deficits, South Asian countries need deeper regional cooperation.
  • Countries can work towards increasing the flow of intra-regional FDI.
  • The private sector too can play a vital role in resource mobilisation.

Conclusion

If South Asia can come to a common understanding, it can unleash a powerful synergistic force.


 

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