Saarc business leaders' meet from Feb 17 in Mumbai
Diplomatic Correspondent
The two-day second Saarc Business Leaders Conclave will begin in India's Mumbai on February 17 aiming to focuses on developing new mindsets and changing attitude in the Saarc region to ensure economic and social benefits.The conclave intends to offer a channel to discuss new comparative advantages in South Asia to efficiently allocate resources and thereby enable the whole economy to expand and develop optimally. The Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) will organise meeting in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) along with all national federations representing the Saarc member countries. The World Bank will join as knowledge partner, according to officials here. Indian Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee will formally inaugurate the conclave while Secretary-General Saarc Chenkyab Dorji will address the delegates. According to officials, the conclave will address the common challenges that incorporate the whole region. Much focus is needed to create peace constituencies without which the regional development cannot be ensured. The commerce ministers of all Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka-- have confirmed their participation to address the conclave along with prominent scholars, top corporate leaders of Saarc, media and entertainment leaders, NGOs and development activists and business leaders from all over the world. The meeting is expected to be attended by over 400 leading business leaders from the region.
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