KARACHI: President Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tariq Sayeed has urged the member states to sign a regional investment treaty for economic integration of South Asia.

He will press the idea in India next week at a conference titled: ‘Harnessing business opportunities for economic integration of South Asia,’ jointly organised by Saarc chamber and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank in New Delhi, says a press release.

The conference will be inaugurated by S M Krishna, Indian Minister of External Affairs amid the presence of Dr Sheel Kant Sharma, secretary general Saarc and Jai Ram Ramesh, state minister for environment.

In a statement before leaving for India Sayeed said that promotion of economic cooperation in the region and particularly between India and Pakistan could serve as a powerful lever to defuse political tension.

He said modern philosophy of regional integration was based on magnitude and gravity of the economic cooperation amongst the member countries.

The conference will deliberate on issues such as expanding the Saarc visa exemption scheme, rationalising public holidays, adopting a regional motor vehicle agreement, non-tariff barriers, improving land customs stations and intra-regional investment.