Asian Development Bank (ADB) has decided to provide technical assistance worth USD 7.5 lakh to promote policy reforms in India, Pakistan and other countries in the region under its South Asian Regional Cooperation 2030 project.
"The grant is focused on India and Pakistan because they are the region's two largest economies and both have been taking steps to promote regional cooperation and integration (RCI)," ADB said in a statement today.
Even as India is heading for the next Lok Sabha polls and Pakistan yet to come out of the political turmoil, the fund will try to accelerate domestic reforms and identify long-term strategies for closer regional cooperation.
According to the ADB, south Asia is the least integrated region in the world with intra-regional trade. It contributes just two per cent of gross domestic product compared to twenty per cent in east Asia. These two counties face various challenges including poverty, increasing inequality, civil conflict and tense political relations coupled with high trade protectionism despite the establishment of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA).
However, the ADB said, some progress has been made in the past few years and pace of domestic policy reforms across south Asia has gathered momentum. The relation and trade between India and Pakistan has also improved. The agency will study the findings and organise international conferences in October next year for discussion on the same. The agency plans to carry out similar projects in other South Asian countries, like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
