Economic development of South Asia hampered to lack of intra-regional trade, says Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

New Delhi: Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Monday said the economic development of South Asia has been "severely hampered" due to lack of intra-regional trade and stressed

He further said that economic growth will not come to Europe and it will be necessary to increase the number of SAARC countries in the region. 19659002] "Politicians may say anything and politics of the region may be anything but South Asia as a region of the world.

Kant was addressing SAARC Development Fund (SDF) Partnership Conclave 2018 in New Delhi.

He pointed out that The world is intra-regional in character.

"If you look at America and Europe, it is intra-regional." But if you look at South Asia, it is at least integrated in the world, "the Niti CEO said.

He added, "If you look at intra-regional trade, there is virtually no trade taking place in the SAARC region. SAARC countries. "

Stating that SAARC countries did not know how to work in the region, Kant said" we have nobody to blame but ourselves. "

" Within the SAARC region, we have ensured that we "he asserted."

Kant said, "It is going to the credit of the SDF to have completed six projects, with six more in the pipeline in the SAARC countries amidst a host of complex issues.

Doing cros The NITI Aayog CEO stressed that SAARC countries should allow greater trade and investment to be more complex and more complex than it is.

"Why Indian tourists are going to Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. Why they can not travel to Bhutan, Pakistan, or Afghanistan, "he underlined."

25 percent to GDP in these parts

Speaking at the same event, SAARC Development Fund CEO Sunil Motiwal said, "We plan to convert SDF into regional bank in the next 2 years. 19659002] "Motiwal added"

He also noted that presently SAARC is least integrated region with only 3 percent of its total trade of place among the member countries. He said the SDF has already implemented 12 intra-regional projects in South Asia in various fields of waste-to-energy, trade infrastructure, women empowerment and water conservation and management with a funding of $ 74 million, of which $ 47 million has been disbursed

Kant said the SD The SDF is currently implementing the United States of America and the United States of America.

The SDF is currently implementing 12 implementing projects, covering the eight member states under the Social Window Funding (SWF)

The SDF was established by the heads of the eight SAARC member states in April 2010 and its Governing Council included finance ministers of these eight countries.