News List

Compiled features on recent developments in regional cooperation and integration in the SASEC region.

Year:
October 2017

Inland Waterways to Spur BBIN Development

Completion of infrastructure to connect inland waterways of India and Bangladesh could ease movement between the two countries, and make transport of freight to Nepal and Bhutan faster and less expensive. Opening inland waterways would make alternative modes of transport viable and could open up livelihood opportunities, helping facilitate trade in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, according to experts attending a forum on subregional inland waterways.

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Tags: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Poverty Reduction, Sustainable Development Goals, Transport

January 2017

Commentary: Hydro-powering Regional Development in India and Nepal

Transboundary rivers between India and Nepal have huge hydropower and irrigation potential. Developing these rivers can become an engine for regional development, alleviating poverty for millions of people within a reasonable timeframe. With improved relations between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, formulating and implementing sustainable plans to manage these rivers presents a significant win-win opportunity for the subregion.

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Tags: India, Nepal, Hydropower, Kosi River, Sustainability, Poverty Reduction

May 2016

SASEC Member Countries Urged to Develop Synergies through Cooperation

Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, India called on member countries of the SASEC Program to develop synergies through cooperation, in his inaugural address at the Second Regional Consultation Workshop on SASEC 2025. He also highlighted SASEC's strength as a project-driven initiative.

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Tags: SASEC 2025, Regional Cooperation, Trade Facilitation, BBIN, Poverty Reduction, India

February 2015

Railway Sector Investment Program Approaching Completion

The Railway Sector Investment Program, approved by the Asian Development Bank on October 2006 as a multitranche financing facility with total cost of $537.5 million, is approaching completion within 2015. The project contributes to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in Bangladesh by improving the country's railway network.

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Tags: Bangladesh, Transport, Poverty Reduction

August 2014

'Regional Connectivity for Shared Prosperity': UNESCAP's Roadmap to An Inclusive Future

Economic dynamism in the Asia-Pacific region has been driven primarily by individual economies, yet to ensure sustainable growth in the future, countries must integrate and cooperate to share prosperity, according to the 2014edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific.

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Tags: Regional Cooperation, Poverty Reduction, UNESCAP, Asia-Pacific, Energy, Connectivity, ICT, LDC, SASEC, Trade, Transport

July 2014

WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility Support LDCs and Developing Countries

A Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility was launched by the WTO on 22 July 2014, further ensuring that least developed countries and developing countries will receive necessary assistance in implementing the trade facilitation agreement.

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Tags: WTO, Trade Facilitation, Poverty Reduction, ADB, SASEC, Trade Facilitation Agreement, LDC, WCO, UNESCAP

July 2014

Reducing Practical Barriers to Trade

The World Economic Forum's Global Enabling Trade Report: 2014 offers a tool to monitor progress on implementing measures for the Trade Facilitation Agreement. It provides insights on how countries in South Asia can significantly gain from the $1 trillion boost the Trade Facilitation Agreement is expected to bring to the global economy.

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Tags: Trade Facilitation, Trade Policy, Poverty Reduction, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, South Asia, Trade Facilitation Agreement, Trade, WTO

June 2014

SASEC Energy Projects in Nepal Increase Clean Energy Use

Nepal’s Alternative Energy Promotion Centre has installed its first wind-solar hybrid system in Dhaubadi village of Nawalparasi district, with Asian Development Bank support. The clean energy approach of this successful pilot project, already providing energy services to 46 rural households, can be replicated under a proposed SASEC power system expansion project.

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Tags: Energy, Nepal, Poverty Reduction, ADB, SASEC

May 2014

Launch of $1.5 Million Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction Technical Assistance for Trade Facilitation in Nepal

Mr. Madhu Kumar Marasini, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance represented the Government of Nepal at the official launch of activities under a $1.5 million technical assistance project financed by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, on 21 May 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The capacity development technical assistance will support trade facilitation initiatives being carried out under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Trade Facilitation Program.

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Tags: Trade Facilitation, Nepal, SASEC, ADB, WCO, Poverty Reduction, Customs