SAARC Business Leaders Conclave: South Asia Regional Integration and Growth
November 17, 2005, New Delhi

Welcome Addressby Mr. Macky Hashim, President, SCCI

Honorable Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, Ministers from SAARC Countries, H.E. Mr. Chenkyab Dorji, Secretary General, SAARC, Ambassadors. Distinguish speakers, Business leaders, Opinion Makers, Media Personals, and distinguish participants from all the seven countries of the SAARC region and outside

Ladies and gentlemen. ...

It is my proud privilege to extend a very warm welcome to you all this morning, to this very significant event of SAARC Business leaders Conclave with the presence of Honorable Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, and other leading dignitaries from in and outside the SAARC region.

"If geography has brought us together it is history that binds us together. And it will be business that will keep us together in future"

The SAARC Business leaders Conclave is timely initiative of SCCI, which brings the captains of industry of the SAARC region together on a common platform. The event is appropriately taking place only a few weeks before the entry, into force, of the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) on 1 January 2006. The launching of free trade area in South Asia will be land mark on the path to South Asian economic Union as envisaged by the SAARC Leaders and confirmed at the recently concluded SAARC Summit in Dhaka.

SAARC Business Leaders Conclave's vision is to create South Asian Networks for economic growth and poverty alleviation. The Conclave derives the vision from the declaration of the 11th SAARC Summit at Kathmandu, Nepal in 2002; "The Head of State or Government renewed their commitment to encourage the participation of the private sector and assured their full support for their socially responsible economic initiatives. While welcoming the practice of holding trade fairs in cooperation with the private sector at the regional level, they appreciated the efforts of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote regional economic cooperation in the spirit of public and private sector partnership."

The 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, January 2004 was seen with great expectations and interest not only in the SAARC region but in the rest of the world as well. The Summit saw the culmination of our efforts with the formal signing of the SAFTA Framework Treaty. While we wait patiently for opening of our regional market into a single free market, we should work collectively on other issues of economic Cooperation so that the transition towards a free market is smooth and successful.

13th SAARC Summit just concluded in Dhaka has begun a new era of trade and economic cooperation in the region and provided a useful platform in exchanging views on all these and other areas crucial for making SAARC a prosperous region.

The Objective of this Delhi Business Conclave is to emancipate SAARC of poverty by making it the fastest growing economic region in the world, to prepare member states for a common South Asian Market, to have common currency, to make a South Asian Union like the European Union, to develop an enabling environment for: higher intra-regional investment, to promote South Asia as a common investment destination for the rest of the world, to increase employment opportunities, and to promote corporate social responsibility amongst private enterprises within the region. The Conclave would provide an excellent opportunity to delegates for Networking at the highest levels of decision making in business, political and strategic affairs.

Conference will focus on the following themes:

• Improving Competitiveness and Growth in South Asia
  
• South Asia in Global Economy: Regional and Global Integration
• Doing Business in South Asia
  
• How to Improve Technology Skills and Development, and
  
• SAARC Melting Pot: South Asia's Soft Power.
  

The SCCI brings under one umbrella the national chambers of commerce and industry of the Member States of SAARC. Since its inception in 1992 as the first recognized regional Apex Body of SAARC, the SCCI has played a pivotal role in deepening and widening economic cooperation under SAARC.

Regional Economic Cooperation has been one of the top most items on the agenda of SAARC Chamber. To achieve this, SCCI has been working on a number of issues on this front. We have drawn up a regional framework on Arbitration and prepared a draft agreement on Movement of goods and services. We have brought our nations together on WTO issues through numerous programs. We have conferred on investment flows and their impact on poverty reduction. We are also working on possibilities of harmonization of standards in the region .

Analyzing the global economic scenario and patterns of development, what we find similar in the development process is the participation of private sector as engine of growth and partner in sharing the increasing responsibilities of economic development. The role of private sector has never been more important and has been globally recognized for many years due to its dynamism and practical approach.

This is the reason why the Government-lndustry Partnership Affirmation was presented by SCCI to the Eleventh SAARC Summit in Katmandu, January 2002. It epitomizes the positive role of the private sector in this partnership. SCCI provides a useful feedback to SAARC and individual member governments and facilitates the creation of an enabling economic environment in which the country in the region can capitalize in regional synergies and also become a partner in the development of the region.

Keeping in view of these facts, we in the private sector see the SAARC Business Leaders Conclave as an opportunity for governments in the region to formalize partnership involving private sector and at other fronts as well to march towards an era of prosperity.

The SAARC Business Leaders Conclave is a timely initiative of SCCI, which will bring the captains of industry of the SAARC region together on a common platform. The event is appropriately taking place only a few weeks before the entry into force of the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) on 1 January 2006. The launching of a free trade area in South Asia will be a landmark event on the path to a South Asian Economic Union as envisaged by the SAARC Leaders.

In spite of limited resources, members of SAARC Chamber are working tirelessly, driven by a faith in our common destiny. We volunteer our time and energy only because we believe SAARC has great potential in this world, and one day we will earn our rightful place in the comity of the world.

I wish the event all success and am sure that the SCCI would continue to render useful services in bringing the business community of the region together to promote trade not only in the region but also beyond .

SCCI believes that SAARC Business leaders Conclave will open new venues of cooperation among member countries and deepen economic linkages for our better future.

I, on behalf of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry would like to say thanks
for your active participation.

On behalf of SCCI I, want to express my heartfelt thanks to Friedrich Naumann Stiftung for their continuous support to SCCI and special thanks for supporting this event. I also thank World Bank for generous support and being knowledge partner to the Business conclave.

I would also extend my special thanks to all our distinguished guests and participants.

At the end, I would like to welcome you all to this Conclave and thank you for being with us here today.

Thank you all.

Macky Hashim
President SCCI