Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) in collaboration with SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) organized Lecture Series on Regional Economic Integration: Deepening of SAFTA at Chamber House, Islamabad. The event was attended by a large number of participants from public and private sectors.

Addressing the event, Dr. Rene Klaff, Regional Director, South Asia, FNF emphasized that private sector should be given enhanced role to promote regional economic integration by expanding and deepening inter-regional and intra-regional trade and exports.

He said state has no role to play in business and it should play the role of a facilitator and give more space to entrepreneurs to promote regional cooperation in South Asia. For this purpose, institutional framework should be put in place. He said market economy, economic freedom and regional integration are the best tools to promote prosperity in South Asia.

He said the world has witnessed the terrible end of communism in former USSR and other communist countries which could not to promote their private sectors and met with failure. He said India achieved outstanding economic performance by bringing in market reforms and opening its economy. He said all governments of SAARC countries should play a positive role in making SAFTA truly workable to usher in better quality of life for their people.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Safdar Sohail, Director General, Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD) gave a detailed presentation highlighting the constraints which are hampering regional integration and regional trade potential. He said that SAFTA was created with much hype, but it could not produce the desired results for the Region as South Asia is still considered the least integrated region in terms of economic cooperation and trade.

He said big countries of the region should play leading role in making SAFTA a successful experience as was done by France and Germany in making EU a thriving regional block. He said South Asian governments should eliminate all trade barriers so that the region could benefit from a more liberal trading environment. 

Mr. Zubair Ahmed Malik, Chief Coordinator of EFN Pak said lethargic attitude of governments has hampered the private sector from fully implementing SAFTA depriving 1.5 billion people of the region of new economic opportunities. He urged that leadership of South Asia should extend full support to private sector to exploit untapped trade potential in the region.

Addressing the audience, Zahid Maqbool, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry if we look at intra-regional trade agreements in other parts of the world, the outcome is far better than SAFTA agreement. He said the intra-regional trade in South Asia was estimated only $ 11 billion against the revealed potential of $ 40 billion in 2008, indicating that Members countries failed to tap 73% potential, available.

He said South Asian governments should sit together and talk to create new economic opportunities for the benefits of both larger and smaller economies in the region while private sector should be assigned the leading role in promoting B2B contacts in the region. 
Dr. Bashir Ahmad, Professor & Head of Economics Department, NUML, Dr. Aliya H. Khan, Professor & Head of Economics Department, Quaid-e-Azam University, Iqbal Tabish, Secretary General SCCI and many other experts also spoke on the occasion and gave their ideas to promote regional economic integration for taking advantage of SAFTA.