Category: South Asia

August 06, 2008 (LBO) – Maldives is set to ratify a new constitution this week which will bring multi-party democracy the Indian Ocean tourist paradise, but the archipelago’s politics are already tainted with allegations of bribery amid fears of a constitutional crisis.Under that, an Elections Commission must be formed within 30 days, a Supreme Court […]

DHAKA, 2008 (AFP) – Bangladesh is pursuing bilateral free trade deals with three neighbouring countries following the collapse of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks for a global agreement, an official said Monday. If successful, the WTO’s so-called Doha round of talks would have reaped huge financial benefits for Bangladesh, giving the impoverished country a massive […]

Aug 04, 2008 (LBO) – A South Asian ‘food bank’ to counter rising prices and perceived ‘shortages’ would be housed in Bangladesh, a Sri Lankan official said at the conclusion of a meeting of an eight nation regional grouping in Colombo.The food bank will have contributions from each country according to the size of its […]

August 3, 2008 (LBO) – Bhutan and Bangladesh, tried to fan the flame of free trade in South Asia as dismantling trade barriers went off the agenda, when leaders of seven nations that make up a South Asian regional grouping met in Colombo.The agenda of the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) was dominated […]

August 3, 2008 (AFP) – South Asian leaders will push for anti-terror measures and greater food security as they wrap up a summit Sunday, but efforts to boost cooperation remain hampered by tensions between India and Pakistan. The prime ministers of the two countries met on the sidelines of the eight-nation regional summit, grabbing headlines […]

August 3, 2008 (LBO) – The landlocked kingdom of Bhutan offered tax concessions to host a planned South Asia Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) development fund, at a meeting of the seven nation grouping’s leaders in Colombo.The SAARC development fund is to have a 300 million dollar initial capital which will be used to fund […]

Aug 03, 2008 (LBO) – Bhutan will host the secretariat of a South Asian regional fund that has already collected 307 million dollars in commitments at a summit meeting of regional leaders, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama said. But 300 million dollars of seed capital is tiny compared to the capital needs of the […]

Aug 03, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian telecommunications regulators should quickly move to bring down overseas telephone tariffs, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama said at the conclusion of a regional leaders’ meeting.Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa raised the issue of cheaper call charges during his opening speech at the summit meeting of the South […]

August 2, 2008 (AFP) – A summit of South Asian leaders was set to open in Sri Lanka on Saturday, with tensions between India and Pakistan likely to eclipse regional talks on trade, terrorism and poverty. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s new premier Yousuf Raza Gilani were due to hold their first-ever talks […]

Aug 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa called for lower international direct dial (IDD) tariffs to better integrate the people of south Asia when he opened a regional summit in Colombo Saturday.But the international regime was dismantled from 2003, though its remnants seems to be still alive within SAARC. Last month he […]

Aug 02, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian leaders have called for tough action against terrorism at their summit in Colombo this weekend where they are to sign an accord on co-operation in criminal matters. Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh said terrorism continues to “rear its ugly head” in the region. “It remains the single biggest […]

July 31, 2008 (AFP) – South Asian leaders are set for a weekend summit in Colombo where they are expected to repeat pious platitudes, highlighting that the 23-year-old regional grouping has little to show by way of economic progress. Observers compare summits to movie productions, but the script has changed little since the first SAARC […]