The participants expressed their views in the three-day meet ‘Sub Regional approach to Regional Integration in South Asia: Prospects and Opportunities’ that concluded here today.
Urging the countries of the Himalayan sub-region to relax geographical barriers in order to boost trade among the residents of the border areas, the participants felt a vast portion of the Himalayan sub-region was not getting access to markets due to restrictions.
Underscoring the critical role of the respective governments in the region to put in place a policy mechanism, the meet resolved it was imperative to eliminate the existing economic disparities and inequalities among people.
The people of the respective countries and States under the Himalayan sub-region must also exert necessary pressure on their respective States to build an ideal sub-regionalism, a process in which the role of media can not be ignored, they said.
Senior journalist Shastri Ramachandran, advocated introducing new lexicons in discussing aspects unique to the sub-region. He said the Himalayan sub-region be better addressed as “land-linked” rather than the commonly used land-locked to signify its links to the mainstream.
Sikkim University vice-chancellor Prof Mahendra P Lama said countries of the South Asian sub-region had made endeavours in the past for better regional cooperation but it fell flat due to lack of conviction. – PTI