Allaying fears that free trade agreement could hurt smaller countries of SAARC, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that the implementation of South Asian Free Trade Agreement is expected to enhance trade in the region to $14 billion from $6 billion in the next two years.
Inaugurating the first SAARC Business Leaders Conclave in New Delhi, Singh said the high growth of bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka has dispelled fears on both sides that free trade would hurt business in smaller countries.
"This free trade agreement is a win-win agreement for both the countries and could be a model for similar agreements in the region," he said, adding the SAARC leaders must move rapidly to meet the deadline for SAFTA.
"The need for implementing SAFTA cannot be over emphasised. It is expected that with the free flow of trade in SAARC region, the current level of intra-regional trade will rise from $6 billion to $14 billion annually within two years of SAFTA existence," Singh said.
The Prime Minister expressed the hope that the free trade agreement will help move forward towards the eventual goal of South Asian Economic Union.
"I do believe that just as regional integration is not antithetical to globalisation, it also does not hurt the broader interests of any member of a regional group," he said. -- PTI
(Above) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh greeting participants at the SAARC Business Leaders Conclave in New Delhi on Thursday. Mackey Hashim, President, SCCI, is also seen.
UNI Photo
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