PM moots single currency in S Asia

Greater economic cooperation among South Asian countries could lead to a single currency in the region, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said here today while inaugurating "Peace Dividend""Progress for India and South Asia," a conference of the Hindustan Times Leadership Initiative.

"As we develop greater economic stakes in each other, we can put aside mistrust and dispel unwarranted suspicions. Once we reach that stage, we could not be far from mutual security cooperation, open borders and even a single currency," Vajpayee said.

Setting out the agenda for economic cooperation among countries in the region, Vajpayee said: "If we provide legitimate avenues of free commercial interaction, we can eradicate the black market and underground trade. We could jointly tackle smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering and other transnational crimes, which today flourish in our region because of mutual rivalries and inadequate coordination.

The Prime Minister pointed out that in the post-Cold War era, countries around the world were increasingly focusing on regional economies for trade and development.

"By most estimates, trade within regions accounts for three-fourths of global trade. Yet, in spite of our geographical proximity, shared economic characteristics and similar development infrastructure, intra-south Asia trade is less than five per cent of our total foreign trade," he added.

Allaying fears that India would dominate free trade in the region, Vajpayee said: "Our free trade agreements with Nepal and Sri Lanka have resulted in narrowing the trade deficits of both these countries with India. In fact, the success of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement has inspired us to expand its scope to cover services and investment in a comprehensive economic partnership agreement."

Taking the example of energy as an area of economic cooperation, Vajpayee said while Bhutan was sitting on 10,000 Mw of hydroelectricity and Bangladesh had promising natural gas reserves, India was the most viable buyer for energy in the region.

"There is obvious scope for win-win arrangements," he added.

Vajpayee also talked about the strategic importance of the region in transporting oil and gas from central Asia and west Asia to the fast-expanding markes of east and southeast Asia.