7.4. Trade and Commerce: The SAARC Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA)

♤ The idea of including trade and commerce on the agenda of SAARC was first given a concrete form in 1993 with the signing of (SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) signed in Dhaka on the 11th of April 1993 which provided for the adoption of various instruments of trade liberalization on a preferential basis. Another aspect was SAARC’s more economically developed countries agreed to assist the less developed countries in the region. SAPTA was launched in 1995.