South Asia

In South Asia, the seven member countries met in Dhaka in November 2005 for the 13th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit. Three major agreements were signed during the summit. They were on double taxation avoidance, liberalisation of visa regimes for member countries and the creation of a SAARC Arbitration Council. Equally importantly, Afghanistan was recognised as a member of SAARC while Japan and China were given observer status. An assessment of the SAARC Summit is presented in this newsletter.