Regional cooperation in industry and energy

One of the major aims of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is to collectively foster economic growth and development among the member-states. However, eight years after its inception, the Association has still not been able to make any meaningful progress in this direction primarily because political sensitivities continue to come in the way. At the same time, there is a growing realisa tion among members of SAARC that reg ional economic cooperation can promote national economic growth and develop ment. Hence, SAARC has of late begun to accelerate the pace of exploring and identi. fying areas of bilateral and multi-lateral economic cooperation for the mutual be nefit of the member states.

To assist this process, it is necessary to address specific questions of feasibility from national and regional perspectives and in terms of the potential benefits. The two major questions that arise in this con text are: in which specific areas would reg ional economic cooperation be both feasi ble and mutually beneficial; and what are the constraints which need to be resolved to facilitate such cooperation?

The contributors to this volume take up these two fundamental issues in the context of specific sub-sectors of industry and energy where regional economic coopera tion may be desirable and feasible. They have also focused on various constraints to regional cooperation in the context of economic, technological and historical - political processes. Also analysed are the potential advantages from this cooperation to both individual countries and the region as a whole. National and regional patterns of demand and supply and import-export trade and related parameters have taken into account by the contributors.