SAARC: Social, Economic and Regional Integration of South Asia
Dr. Shreesh South Asia is animportant region as not only masters of geopolitics suggest but also it marks its prominent presence in the arena of global economics and global politics.Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs) have been around for hundreds of years. Most of the countries of the world are members of a bloc, and many belong to more than one. In South Asia, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an emerging trading bloc. The total trade of the bloc has improved after the creation of the agreement.Quite apart from the general opening up, the countries in the region also began to see increased cooperation and trade among themselves, as a key objective. This was reflected partially in the founding of the SAARC in 1985 by a group of seven South Asian countries, namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Later on, Afghanistan also joined as a full member of SAARC on April 3, 2007. i Regional integration is a process in which sta