SAARC Trade Information Portal launched

Ceylon Chamber of Commerce CEO and Secretary General Harin Malwatte explaining the services offered by the www.saarctrade.info to the Nepal Prime Minister Madhav K Nepal at the 10th SAARC Trade Fair in Katmandu

The 10th SAARC Trade Fair was successfully held in Katmandu from December 15 to 19, where a number of companies both from the large and SME sectors of SAARC countries participated to promote their products and services. The chief guest at the inauguration, the Madhav K Nepal said that despite leaders of SAARC countries at successive meetings urging the countries to improve trade between SAARC countries, the figures had not been up to expectations.

As per the www.saarc-sec.org, the intra regional trade between SAARC countries as per the last published figures show only about four to five percent of total trade. The Regional Trade Agreements, namely SAPTA was entered into in 1993 and SAFTA in 2005 have been confined mainly to trade in goods and is viewed as a limiting factor. Globally, the trends governing bilateral and trade initiatives are moving towards implementing broad economic partnership agreements and areas of economic cooperation.

One of the main barriers that have been identified as an impediment to trade for SAARC countries is the lack of information and a step in the right direction was taken when the SAARC Trade Information Portal was launched to discover new avenues for business to explore South Asia's potential at a mere click. The portal was officially launched on October 29, 209 with the participation of Government and private sector officials, business community and financial organizations of the region. The then Export Development and International Trade Minister Prof G L Peiris represented Sri Lanka as the guest of honour at the launch.