NEW DELHI, March 3: Saarc Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Tariq Sayeed says Safta would be made more effective to revive economic cooperation for free trade in the region.

In a presentation on the South Asian Free Trade Agreement at expert committee meeting here, he said Safta had to be implemented in letter and spirit for South Asia to become integrated and strong economic bloc.

He said all-out efforts would be made that Safta should help build confidence among business communities through private sectors of Pakistan and India, two largest economies in the region. He stressed the need to take taking concrete and bold decisions for the welfare of people by economic cooperation among member states.

He said South Asia houses 1.4 billion world’s population representing large workforce, tremendous business and investment opportunities. This area is rich in natural resources, which if properly used can lead to South Asia becoming a hub of business activities.

However, intra-regional trade figures for S. Asia are disappointing. He said according to world development indicators, trade in the region constitutes only 1.4pc of total world imports and 1.2pc of exports whereas merchandise trade is only 27.9pc of the GDP, lowest in the world.—PPI