Saarc to include services sector in Safta in June

DASKA - All the eight SAARC member countries would approve the inclusion of services sector in the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) during the coming schedule meeting of SAARC in June 2008, which was earlier only related to trading. President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tariq Saeed disclosed this while talking to the newsmen at Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), here, after this noon. He said that now the time was ripe for the SAARC countries to get the maximum trade related benefits of the SAFTA, which would also open the new vistas of socio-economic and industrial development in the SAARC countries. He said that the signing of the SAFTA was a very important decision. He said that all the SAARC countries would get the zero rated duties for each other under SAFTA till 2016. Replying to a question, he said that now the SAARC was moving towards the right direction of the economical stability, earlier, the SAARC could not really take off due to the relations between India and Pakistan, which were the two major players of SAARC. Now, the things have changed and both India and Pakistan are committed to all the resolutions and decisions taken by SAARC members as nations as we have taken as SAARC Chamber of Commerce. He said that SAARC was playing pivotal role in bringing economical stability and development among the all the eight members including Afghanistan.

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