SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the

regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its
member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8
December 1985.[3] Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes
development of economic and regional integration.

The SAARC Trade Promotion Network (SAARC-TPN) consists of 27 public

and private institutions from the eight countries of the SAARC region. Public
sector members of the TPN are primarily the national trade ministries or the
trade departments of economic ministries, along with trade and export
promotion agencies. Members of the network drawn from the private sector
include regional and national business membership organizations. These
chambers of commerce and business associations are the leading trade
organizations in their countries.
Commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ), the project is supporting the SAARC Trade
Promotion Network (SAARC-TPN) and its four working groups (Regional
Trade Facilitation; Quality Infrastructure; Small and Medium Enterprise and
Human Capacity Development) in improving strategic management and
organizational development. The project promotes communication and
information-sharing between network members. It builds their competences
for identifying priority measures to overcome trade restrictions, and it
facilitates complex negotiations to develop solutions and to properly
represent the interests of the network.
the project will support the introduction and implementation of new trade
facilitation and trade promotion initiatives. Furthermore, it will promote the
development of SAARC-TPN know-how and resources for monitoring the
progress and outcomes of cross-border trade promotion measures in South
Asia.