Fourth Meeting of the SAARC Network of Researchers and
Seminar on South Asia in the Global Economy

As mandated by the SAARC Secretariat, RIS organised the Fourth Meeting of the SAARC Network of Researchers on Global Financial and Economic Issues on 22 March 2001. Shri K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission and Chairman, RIS inaugurated the meeting. Delegates from the SAARC Secretariat and the member countries participated in the deliberations of the meeting. As part of the activities of this Network, RIS also organised a one-day seminar on "South Asia in the Global Economy" on 23rd March 2001, in which presentations and discussion took place on themes like New Issues in WTO, WTO's Agreement on Agriculture, TRIPs Gains from Regional/Bilateral Trade, Conceptual and Policy Issues in Rules of Origin: Implications for SAPTA and SAFTA, Indo Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, Energy for Economic Development in South Asia, Issues in SAARC Finance, Issues concerning accessin of Nepal and Bhutan to the WTO. Dr. Saman Kelegama of IPS, Sri Lanka, Dr. Upali Wickramsinghe of the SAARC Secretariat and Dr. Nagesh Kumar of RIS participated in a Panel Discussion on the theme of the seminar.