KARACHI, Feb 22: The Saarc economic agreements will promote not only trade but also foreign investment and joint ventures, speakers at the Saarclaw working session on WTO and regional trade said on Sunday morning.

Two major initiatives aimed at boosting intra-Saarc trade are South Asian Preferential Trading Agreement (Sapta), which was introduced in 1995, and the agreement to establish South Asia Free Trade Area (Safta), to be established over a period of 10 years starting January 1, 2006.

There was consensus at the session that Saarc lagged far behind other regional groupings in matters of trade and commerce. The region, they said, was still mired in outdated visa and customs rules and regulations. It would have to move fast if it wanted its voice heard at international forums, according to the speakers.

The session was co-chaired by Justice R. C. Lahoti of India and Justice C. V. Wigneswaran of Sri Lanka. Saarclaw Indian chapter secretary Hemant Batra, Arvin Singh from the United States and Shahid Jamil of Pakistan were the speakers.

Another working session held before the closing valedictory session discussed cyber crimes and measures to curb them. It was co-chaired by Chief Justice Rasheed Ibrahim of the Republic of Maldives and Muneer A. Malik, former president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association. Saarclaw President Dhara Wijayatilake, A.K. Ganguly (India), Zahid Jamil (Pakistan) and Khurram Rashid (Pakistan) were the speakers.

The speakers said the cyber technology was the fastest growing industry but it was fraught with multifarious problems. It promoted commerce by electronic means. At the same time, it facilitated high-tech crime. There was an urgent need to check hacking, spam, stalking, identity theft and introduction of malicious software.

Cyber offenders can open fictitious accounts, steal intellectual property, indulge in industrial espionage, resort to e-mail bombing and commit child abuse by soliciting porn. South Asian legal experts should pool their resources to fight cyber crime before it gets out of control and impedes progress, the speakers said.