Kathmandu, Dec 02: A Saarc expert committee set up to draft the comprehensive treaty regime for South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) failed to finalise the much talked about draft owing to lack of consensus on some issues among the member nations. Consensus is yet to be arrived at in respect of some provisions (of the draft treaty), a statement issued by the Saarc Secretariat said here today.

However, at the sixth meeting of the committee which concluded yesterday, member states reached at a broad agreement on the trade liberalisation programme, institutional mechanism, dispute settlement mechanism and other articles of the draft treaty framework, it said.


The members also agreed on a number of special provisions for the least developed contracting states, the statement said.

The meeting was aimed at drafting a comprehensive treaty regime for a SAFTA to facilitate free and expanded trade relations among the seven South Asian countries.

The experts committee would meet in Islamabad later this month for a final round of consultations to finalise the framework agreement before the 12th Saarc Summit in January next year, official sources said.


Bureau Report