World Trade Organization

History

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization which

regulates international trade. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under
the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948.The WTO deals with
regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating
trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to
WTO agreements, which is signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by
their parliaments.[4] Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade
negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (1986–1994).
The World Trade Organization's predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT), was established after World War II in the wake of other new multilateral institutions
dedicated to international economic cooperation – notably the Bretton Woods institutions known
as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A comparable international institution
for trade, named the International Trade Organization was successfully negotiated. The ITO was
to be a United Nations specialized agency and would address not only trade barriers but other
issues indirectly related to trade, including employment, investment, restrictive business
practices, and commodity agreements. But the ITO treaty was not approved by the U.S. and a
few other signatories and never went into effect.
In the absence of an international organization for trade, the GATT would over the years
"transform itself" into a de facto international organization

Principles of the trading system

The WTO establishes a framework for trade policies; it does not define or specify outcomes.
That is, it is concerned with setting the rules of the trade policy games.
Five principles are of particular importance in understanding both the pre-1994 GATT and
the WTO:

1. Non-discrimination. It has two major components: the most favored nation (MFN)

rule, and the national treatment policy. Both are embedded in the main WTO rules on
goods, services, and intellectual property, but their precise scope and nature differ
across these areas. The MFN rule requires that a WTO member must apply the same
conditions on all trade with other WTO members, i.e. a WTO member has to grant
the most favorable conditions under which it allows trade in a certain product type to
 all other WTO members. Grant someone a special favor and you have to do the same
for all other WTO members. National treatment means that imported goods should be
treated no less favorably than domestically produced goods (at least after the foreign
goods have entered the market) and was introduced to tackle non-tariff barriers to
trade (e.g. technical standards, security standards et al. discriminating against
imported goods).

2. Reciprocity. It reflects both a desire to limit the scope of free-riding that may arise
because of the MFN rule, and a desire to obtain better access to foreign markets. A
related point is that for a nation to negotiate, it is necessary that the gain from doing
so be greater than the gain available from unilateral liberalization; reciprocal
concessions intend to ensure that such gains will materialize.

3. Binding and enforceable commitments. The tariff commitments made by WTO

members in a multilateral trade negotiation and on accession are enumerated in a
schedule (list) of concessions. These schedules establish "ceiling bindings": a country
can change its bindings, but only after negotiating with its trading partners, which
could mean compensating them for loss of trade. If satisfaction is not obtained, the
complaining country may invoke the WTO dispute settlement procedures.

4. Transparency. The WTO members are required to publish their trade regulations, to
maintain institutions allowing for the review of administrative decisions affecting
trade, to respond to requests for information by other members, and to notify changes
in trade policies to the WTO. These internal transparency requirements are
supplemented and facilitated by periodic country-specific reports (trade policy
reviews) through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM).[56] The WTO system
tries also to improve predictability and stability, discouraging the use of quotas and
other measures used to set limits on quantities of imports.

5. Safety values. In specific circumstances, governments are able to restrict trade. The
WTO's agreements permit members to take measures to protect not only the
environment but also public health, animal health and plant health.
Members

The WTO has 164 members and 24 observer governments. Liberia became the 163rd
member on 14 July 2016, and Afghanistan became the 164th member on 29 July 2016. In
addition to states, the European Union, and each EU country in its own right, is a member.
WTO members do not have to be fully independent states; they need only be a customs
territory with full autonomy in the conduct of their external commercial relations. Thus Hong
Kong has been a member since 1995 (as "Hong Kong, China" since 1997) predating the
People's Republic of China, which joined in 2001 after 15 years of negotiations.
The Republic of China (Taiwan) acceded to the WTO in 2002 as "Separate Customs
Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei)" despite its disputed
status. The WTO Secretariat omits the official titles (such as Counsellor, First Secretary,
Second Secretary and Third Secretary) of the members of Chinese Taipei's Permanent
Mission to the WTO, except for the titles of the Permanent Representative and the Deputy
Permanent Representative.
As of 2007, WTO member states represented 96.4% of global trade and 96.7% of global
GDP. Iran, followed by Algeria, are the economies with the largest GDP and trade outside
the WTO, using 2005 data. With the exception of the Holy See, observers must start
accession negotiations within five years of becoming observers. A number of international
intergovernmental organizations have also been granted observer status to WTO
bodies. 12 UN member states have no official affiliation with the WTO.

Headquarters
The WTO's current Director-General is Roberto Azevêdo, who leads a staff of over 600
people in Geneva, Switzerland. A trade facilitation agreement, part of the Bali Package of
decisions, was agreed by all members on 7 December 2013, the first comprehensive
agreement in the organization's history.

Functions
The WTO’s overriding objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely and predictably. It
does this by:

 administering trade agreements

 acting as a forum for trade negotiations
 settling trade disputes
 reviewing national trade policies
  building the trade capacity of developing economies
 cooperating with other international organizations

Purpose
The World Trade Organization — the WTO — is the international organization whose
primary purpose is to open trade for the benefit of all

Established Year
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization that promotes world trade
policies and helps resolve differences between member states or parties. The World Trade
Organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Trade Organization was
established in 1995.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

History
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is a portmanteau for a series of global trade
negotiations which were held in a total of nine rounds between 1947 and 1995. The GATT was
first conceived in the aftermath of the Allied victory in the Second World War at the
1947 United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment (UNCTE), at which
the International Trade Organization (ITO) was one of the ideas proposed. It was hoped that the
ITO would be run alongside the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). More
than 50 nations negotiated ITO and organizing its founding charter, but after the withdrawal of
the United States these negotiations collapsed.
Principles

Core principles of the GATT The central principles common to the GATT 1994 and its
predecessor are well known. They are so important, however, that they must be recalled and
briefly discussed. They are the most-favoured-nation (MFN) rule, the principle of reduction and
binding of national tariffs, the rule of national treatment, and the prohibition — subject to
defined exceptions — of protective measures other than tariffs. Two major exceptions to these
central rules that have also been carried over into the GATT 1994 — the provisions on regional
trading arrangements and on restrictions to protect the balance-of-payments — will be
considered separately, in conjunction with the Uruguay Round understandings that have slightly
modified them.

Members
There were 23 nations that originally signed the GATT in 1947 in Geneva before it went into
effect. The signatories, or contracting parties, included:

 Australia
 Belgium
 Brazil
 Burma
 Canada
 Ceylon
 Chile
 China
 Cuba
 Czechoslovakia
 France
 India
 Lebanon
 Luxembourg
 The Netherlands
 New Zealand
 Norway
 Pakistan
 Southern Rhodesia
  Syria
 South Africa
 The United Kingdom
 The United States

Headquarters
The GATT was first discussed during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment
and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade
Organization (ITO). It was signed by 23 nations in Geneva on 30 October 1947, and took effect
on 1 January 1948. It remained in effect until the signature by 123 nations in Marrakesh on 14
April 1994, of the Uruguay Round Agreements which established the World Trade
Organization (WTO) on 1 January 1995. The WTO is the successor to the GATT, and the
original GATT text (GATT 1947) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the
modifications of GATT 1994. Nations that were not party in 1995 to the GATT need to meet the
minimum conditions spelled out in specific documents before they can accede; in September
2019, the list contained 36 nations.

Functions of GATT
In fulfillment of its objectives, GATT adopted certain measures. These may be discussed under
the following headings.
1. Most favored nation clause
2. Trade negotiations
3. Tariff and non-tariff measures
4. Safeguards
5. Complaints and waivers
6. Settlement of disputes

Purpose 
The purpose of GATT was to eliminate harmful trade protectionism, which had contributed to
the Great Depression. GATT encouraged international trade by removing tariffs on goods.

Established Year
The GATT was first discussed during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment
and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade
Organization (ITO). It was signed by 23 nations in Geneva on 30 October 1947, and took effect
on 1 January 1948. It remained in effect until the signature by 123 nations in Marrakesh on 14
April 1994, of the Uruguay Round Agreements which established the World Trade
Organization (WTO) on 1 January 1995. The WTO is the successor to the GATT, and the
original GATT text (GATT 1947) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the
modifications of GATT 1994.

European countries
The EU was not always as big as it is today. When European countries started to cooperate
economically in 1951, only Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
participated.
The Union currently counts 27 EU countries. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European
Union on 31 January 2020

The 27 member countries of the EU

Austria Italy

Belgium Latvia

Bulgaria Lithuania

Croatia Luxembourg

Cyprus Malta

Czechia Netherlands

Denmark Poland

Estonia Portugal

Finland Romania

France Slovakia

Germany Slovenia

Greece Spain

Hungary Sweden
 Ireland

Geo geopolitical Skill

For several decades, the EU has ignored power politics and concentrated on economic
integration. But over the past fifteen years, as authoritarian regimes have come to power in many
parts of the world and U.S. leadership has declined, geopolitics has come back with a vengeance.
With its weak structures, EU foreign policy is struggling to adjust to the new reality.

However, it is not foreign policy but rather the core areas of economic integration that will
determine whether the EU is torn apart by the rivalry of power blocs or succeeds in protecting
the European way of life. The euro, trade and competition policy, the norm-setting power of the
internal market, and the EU’s financial strength give the union the necessary means to thrive. But
to fully use these instruments, the EU needs more decisive leadership, and its way of doing
business will have to change.

To respond to the geopolitical challenge, the EU must use its economic strengths strategically,
deploy its financial firepower, and complete important integration projects. At the same time, the
union needs to understand the risks of taking on a geopolitical role and enhance its resilience and
autonomy while continuing to work toward a rules-based multilateral order.

European Union Association Agreement

A European Union Association Agreement (for short, Association Agreement or AA) is a
treaty between the European Union (EU), its Member States and a non-EU country that creates a
framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include
the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links. The legal basis for the
conclusion of the association agreements is provided by art. 217 TFEU (former art. 310 and art.
238 TEC).
Association Agreements are broad framework agreements between the EU (and its predecessors)
and its member states, and an external state which governs their bilateral relations. The provision
for an association agreement was included in the Treaty of Rome, which established
the European Economic Community, as a means to enable co-operation of the Community with
the United Kingdom, which had retreated from the treaty negotiations at the Messina
Conference of 1955. According to the European External Action Service, for an agreement to be
classified as an AA, it must meet several criteria:

1. The legal basis for their conclusion is Article 217 TFEU (former art. 310 and art. 238 TEC)
2. Intention to establish close economic and political cooperation (more than simple
cooperation);
3. Creation of paritary bodies for the management of the cooperation, competent to take
decisions that bind the contracting parties;
4. Offering most favoured nation treatment;
5. Providing for a privileged relationship between the EC and its partner;
6. Since 1995 the clause on the respect of human rights and democratic principles is
systematically included and constitutes an essential element of the agreement;
7. In a large number of cases, the association agreement replaces a cooperation agreement
thereby intensifying the relations between the partners.

— European External Action Service

The EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political,
economic, trade, or human rights reform in a country. In exchange, the country may be
offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets (industrial goods, agricultural products, etc.),
and financial or technical assistance. Most recently signed AAs also include a Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) between the EU and the third country.
Association Agreements have to be accepted by the European Union and need to be ratified by
all the EU member states and the state concerned.

Function
The functioning of the EU is founded on representative democracy. Being a European citizen
also means enjoying political rights. Every adult EU citizen has the right to stand as a candidate
and to vote in elections to the European Parliament. EU citizens have the right to stand as
candidate and to vote in their country of residence, or in their country of origin.

European business Regional

European business cycles. Regional-level approach the literature on regional business cycles is
considerably more limited than that on national business cycles. Moreover, available studies that
analyze European regional cycles use different methodologies and datasets, which makes it
difficult to compare their results. Most of the literature that has focused on describing overall
regional economic patterns among European regions can be divided into two different strands:
the first focuses on analyzing the synchronization of regional business cycles while the second
studies regional convergence the first strand is more directly related to our work than the second.
Most of these studies focus on examining synchronization among short-term fluctuations in
regional real economic activity. Four types of methodologies are considered: pairwise
correlations, dynamic factor models, regime switching approaches and clustering techniques.
Most of the regional literature focuses on simple pairwise correlations. Specifically, in most
papers, the series are transformed by using, mainly, the Hodrick-Prescott filter17 and then
pairwise correlations are computed based on the filtered data. Different measures of economic
activity are used; for example, Fatas (1997), Barrios and De Lucio (2003) and Belke and Heine
(2006) use employment data while Acedo-Montoya and de Haan (2008) use gross value added
(GVA) and Barrios et al. (2003) work with GDP series. Finally, Clark and van Wincoop (2001)
work with GVA and employment measures of real activity to compare synchronization patterns
among European countries and US Census regions. Regarding dynamic factor models, Marino
(2013) analyzes regional fluctuations of GDP and employment. With respect to the regime-
switching approach, in a recent paper, Gadea et al. (2016) combine regime-switching models and
dynamic model averaging to measure time-varying synchronization for GDP.18 The line that we
explore in this paper intends to account for the correlation across states by modeling regional
recessions, i.e., following Fruhwirth-Schnatter and Kaufmann (2008), we allow the data to define
regional groupings (which, as is standard in the statistical literature, we designate as ’clusters’)
on 17The Christiano-Fitzgerald and the Baxter-King filters are also used. 18Applied to the US
states, Hamilton and Owyang (2012) develop a framework for inferring common Marko
switching components in a panel data set with large cross-sectional and time-series dimensions.
BANCO DE ESPAÑA 14 DOCUMENTO OCASIONAL N.º 1702 the basis of a business cycle
dating. Moreover, we employ the most comprehensive measure of real economic activity, that is,
real GDP data, as the literature on national business cycle synchronization usually does. We can
observe in Table 1 that the geographical coverage also differs among studies. Many papers deal
with a short number of European regions, which are quite aggregated. The nomenclature of
territorial units for statistics (NUTS) 2013 classification lists 98 regions at NUTS1 level, 276
regions at NUTS2 level and 1,342 regions at NUTS 3 level in the European Union. Almost all of
the regional studies work with the NUTS1 aggregation level. All in all, compared to our paper,
most previous studies consider a smaller number of European regions (NUTS1). However, there
are two exceptions. One is the recent paper by Gadea et al. (2016) that incorporates the same
database as the one used in this paper.

North American Free Trade

Canada
The earlier Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement had been controversial and divisive in
Canada, and featured as an issue in the 1988 Canadian election. In that election, more Canadians
voted for anti-free trade parties (the Liberals and the New Democrats), but the split of the votes
between the two parties meant that the pro-free trade Progressive Conservatives (PCs) came out
of the election with the most seats and so took power. Mulroney and the PCs had a parliamentary
majority and easily passed the 1987 Canada–US FTA and NAFTA bills. However, Mulroney
was replaced as Conservative leader and prime minister by Kim Campbell. Campbell led the PC
party into the 1993 election where they were decimated by the Liberal Party under Jean Chrétien,
who campaigned on a promise to renegotiate or abrogate NAFTA. Chrétien subsequently
negotiated two supplemental agreements with Bush, who had subverted the LAC advisory
process and worked to "fast track" the signing prior to the end of his term, ran out of time and
had to pass the required ratification and signing of the implementation law to incoming
president Bill Clinton.[20]
United States
Before sending it to the United States Senate Clinton added two side agreements, the North
American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) and the North American Agreement on
Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), to protect workers and the environment, and to also allay
the concerns of many House members. The U.S. required its partners to adhere to environmental
practices and regulations similar to its own. After much consideration and emotional discussion,
the U.S. House of Representatives passed the North American Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act on November 17, 1993, 234–200. The agreement's supporters included
132 Republicans and 102 Democrats. The bill passed the Senate on November 20, 1993, 61–38.
[21]
 Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Republican Representative David
Dreier of California, a strong proponent of NAFTA since the Reagan Administration, played a
leading role in mobilizing support for the agreement among Republicans in Congress and across
the country.
Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; the agreement went into effect on January 1,
1994.At the signing ceremony, Clinton recognized four individuals for their efforts in
accomplishing the historic trade deal: Vice President Al Gore, Chairwoman of the Council of
Economic Advisers Laura Tyson, Director of the National Economic Council Robert Rubin, and
Republican Congressman David Dreier.Clinton also stated that "NAFTA means jobs. American
jobs, and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this
agreement. NAFTA replaced the previous Canada-US FTA.
Mexico
NAFTA (TLCAN in Spanish) was approved by the Mexican Senate on November 22, 1993, and
was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on December 8, 1993.
The decree implementing NAFTA and the various changes to accommodate NAFTA in Mexican
law was promulgated on December 14, 1993, with entry into force on January 1, 1994.
NAFTA Geo-poltical skill
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into effect on 1 January
1994, took most international political economists by surprise – ‘even the most enthusiastic
advocates of such negotiations thought they were a decade away. NAFTA represents a
significant departure from the traditional economic and institutional relationship between the
United States and its smaller neighbors, Mexico and Canada. The free-trade areas ‘involves an
explicit commitment to market integration – not only in goods but also in services and capital
markets – with significant additional agreements in employment and environmental standards.
Thus, NAFTA was signed because it made political sense, but more importantly, it was signed
due to its economic implications.

Equally, ‘political integration is not occurring, because the North American nations have no
political motive to integrate with one another. The changing nature of the international system
means that the international economy is increasingly being divided into regional trade blocs, and
this ‘new regionalism’ is consequently more open than previous regionalist incarnations. This
essay will begin with a detailed analysis of how NAFTA fits into the concept of regionalism and
addressing the international political economy theories that inform it. It will then move on to a
thorough critique of the economic and political motivations of the United States, Canada and
Mexico and the theories that explain them, before bringing the NAFTA debate up to date with a
brief summary of where we stand now. It will argue that NAFTA primarily serves an economic
function, but was brought about by a ‘confluence of many factors which helped to shape NAFTA
into the free-trade agreement that today appears irreversible.

North American Free Trade Agreement

The North American Free Trade Agreement was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico,
and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came
into force on January 1, 1994, and superseded the 1988 Canada–United States Free Trade
Agreement between the United States and Canada. The NAFTA trade bloc formed one of the
largest trade blocs in the world by gross domestic product.
The impetus for a North American free trade zone began with U.S. president Ronald Reagan,
who made the idea part of his 1980 presidential campaign. After the signing of the Canada–
United States Free Trade Agreement in 1988, the administrations of U.S. president George H. W.
Bush, Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and Canadian prime minister Brian
Mulroney agreed to negotiate what became NAFTA. Each submitted the agreement for
ratification in their respective capitals in December 1992, but NAFTA faced significant
opposition in both the United States and Canada. All three countries ratified NAFTA in 1993
after the addition of two side agreements, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation
(NAALC) and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
Passage of NAFTA resulted in the elimination or reduction of barriers to trade and investment
between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The effects of the agreement regarding issues such as
employment, the environment, and economic growth have been the subject of political disputes.
Most economic analyses indicated that NAFTA was beneficial to the North American economies
and the average citizen, but harmed a small minority of workers in industries exposed to trade
competition. Economists held that withdrawing from NAFTA or renegotiating NAFTA in a way
that reestablished trade barriers would've adversely affected the U.S. economy and cost jobs.
However, Mexico would've been much more severely affected by job loss and reduction of
economic growth in both the short term and long term.
After U.S. president Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he sought to replace NAFTA
with a new agreement, beginning negotiations with Canada and Mexico. In September 2018, the
United States, Mexico, and Canada reached an agreement to replace NAFTA with the United
States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), and all three countries had ratified it by March
2020. NAFTA remained in force until USMCA was implemented. In April 2020, Canada and
Mexico notified the U.S. that they were ready to implement the agreement. The USMCA took
effect on July 1, 2020, replacing NAFTA.

NAFTA Purpose
There were/are seven specific goals.

1. Grant the signatories (the countries that signed it) a "most-favored-nation" status.
2. Eliminate barriers to trade and facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and
services.
3. Promote conditions of fair competition.
4. Increase investment opportunities.
5. Provide protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
6. Create procedures for the resolution of trade disputes.
7. Establish a framework for further trilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation to
expand the trade agreement's benefits.

NAFTA Fulfilled Its Purpose

NAFTA fulfilled all seven of its goals, establishing the region's largest free trade zone in terms
of gross domestic product. It also increased foreign investments in the three countries.

By the time the last of its changes came into effect in 2008, NAFTA had lowered or eliminated
tariffs between the three countries and allowed trading to triple. Most importantly, it increased
the competitiveness of the three countries in the global marketplace. 

Doing Business in Mexico and the US

Canada-Mexico Relations
Canada-U.S. Relations
Canadian Border Services Agency
Canadian Trade Commissioner Service - Country Info: Mexico
Canadian Trade Commissioner Service - Country Info: U.S.
Cross border movement of Business Persons and the North American Free Trade Agreement
Export Development Canada Profile on Mexico
Export Development Canada Profile on the United States
Global Affairs Canada's Export and Import Control Bureau
Mexico Fact Sheet
Trade and Investment between Canada and the U.S.

SAARC Included Countries

SAARC has eight member countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. While the organization was intended to enhance regional
cooperation in South Asia, from its very inception, member countries treated it with
suspicion and mistrust.

SAARC Agreement
The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is an agreement reached on January 6, 2004, at
the 12th SAARC summit in Islamabad, Pakistan. It created a free-trade area of 1.6 billion people
in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to
reduce customs duties of all traded goods to zero by the year 2016. The SAFTA agreement came
into force on January 1, 2006, and is operational following the ratification of the agreement by
the seven governments. SAFTA required the developing countries in South Asia (India, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka) to bring their duties down to 20 percent in the first phase of the two-year period
ending in 2007. In the final five-year phase ending in 2012, the 20 percent duty was reduced to
zero in a series of annual cuts. The least developed countries in South Asia (Nepal, Bhutan,
Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the Maldives) had an additional three years to reduce tariffs to
zero. India and Pakistan ratified the treaty in 2009, whereas Afghanistan as the 8th member state
of the SAARC ratified the SAFTA protocol on 4 May 2011.
Purposes
The SAARC seeks to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia, strengthen collective
self-reliance, promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in various fields, and cooperate
with international and regional organizations.

SAARC Regional Business

Prominent business leaders from the SAARC countries gathered here and discussed the role

private sector can play in early and effective regional economic integration.

Addressing the inaugural session of the 6th SAARC Business Leaders’ Conclave here on Friday,

SAARC Secretary General Amjad Husain Sial lauded the role being played by the SAARC

Chamber of Commerce and Industry in promoting economic relations among the member states.

In conclave, inaugurated by Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oil, Sial highlighted the

importance of regional economic integration.

He said the concept of SAARC Energy Ring is high on the agenda of SAARC.

In order to develop a SAARC market for electricity, the SAARC Framework Agreement for

Energy Cooperation has been signed and its ratification process is underway, said the Secretary

General.

“The meeting brings together prominent business leaders to discuss the role the private sector

can play for early and effective regional economic integration,” he said.
SAARC comprises of eight member states: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,

Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the

regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its
member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The SAARC comprises 3% of the world's area,
21% of the world's population and 4.21% (US$3.67 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2019.
The SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.Its secretariat is based
in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes development of economic and integration. It
launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.The SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic
relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities,
including the European Union.

Purpose
There were/are seven specific goals.

1. Grant the signatories (the countries that signed it) a "most-favored-nation" status.
2. Eliminate barriers to trade and facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and
services.
3. Promote conditions of fair competition.
4. Increase investment opportunities.
5. Provide protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
6. Create procedures for the resolution of trade disputes.
7. Establish a framework for further trilateral, regional.