Eight member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have recently concluded the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS). To date, the progress of sub-regional trade integration in South Asia appears to be rather lacklustre. This book critically analyses the international legal aspects of economic integration in South Asia. It argues that although there are economic constraints in bringing about greater economic integration in South Asia, those constraints are not insurmountable. Many of the constraints are merely outcomes of dubious policies pursued by the policy makers in the sub-region and can be tackled with sustained political commitment towards the cause of the South Asian economic integration.
Md. Rizwanul Islam, Ph.D. (2011), Macquarie University, LL.M, National University of Singapore, LL.B. (Honours), University of Dhaka, is Assistant Professor of Law at BRAC University. He has published extensively on International Trade Law.
"Author Md Rizwanul Islam in Economic Integration in South Asia: Charting a Legal Road Map analyses the state of intra-SAARC trade cooperation from its inception and examines what underlying socio-political factors may have prompted the emergence of the SAARC as in institution and conclusion of PTAs under its auspices. The book explores how broader sub- regional economic integration can propel economic development in South Asia. The author, who has reputation of publishing analytical write ups on international trade law, focuses on South Asian PTAs, in the view of the inter-connected nature of the global economy, its analysis is juxtaposed with the global trade regime and also makes an endeavor to what extent the South Asian PTAs would comply the rules of the WTO...All in all, the book is a very valuable read, affording insights into several aspects of economic integration in South Asia."
All those practitioners, academics, graduate, and postgraduate law/economics/business students working in the fields of International Trade Law, Public International Law, Regional Trading Blocs, and South Asia