South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985 by the Seven Member Countries of South Asia. Later on in 2004, Afghanistan also joined the Organization. The main objective of the Organization is regional cooperation i.e. political, social and economic. The 25 years of standing of the SAARC is itself an evidence of the success of this Organization. In the past few years, SAARC Region has shown continuous economic growth. Despite the most disastrous global meltdown, the growth rate of GDP of South Asia Region is 5.6% which is highest in Asia followed by East Asia with 4.4%.

The M.K. Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre at NALSAR University of Law, established in 2003 is one of its kinds in the entire country; in terms of its objectives and also in terms of facilities. It has its own well equipped building for conducting lectures, conferences, meetings, moot courts, research and other activities. It has credible Fellowship Programmes with special emphasis on Post Graduate education and also Training Programmes for Law Teachers/Law Officials/Judges of SAARCLAW Region. It has the one of the primary objectives to hold annual SAARCLAW conferences and conduct Research Projects on various aspects of interface of law on issues concerning the SAARC region. It also seeks to Publish Newsletter, Journal and Books on SAARC. It also seeks to promote faculty-student exchange programmes with other Universities in the SAARC Region.

In furtherance of its mandate objective, the M.K. Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre has planned a one day national workshop on “SAARC Trade Relations: Legal Issues and Challenges”. The workshop is for healthy discussion and debate on the further strengthening of the economic cooperation within the region and SAARC’s role in the development of international trade. Themes of the Workshop are:

1. Rules of Origin (RoO) in the SAARC Region

2. Trade Barriers

3. Most Favoured Nations Treatment within the SAARC Region

4. Dispute Settlement Mechanism under SAPTA/SAFTA

5. SAARC’s Approach Towards WTO Issues

6. Informal Trade in the SAARC Region

7. Principle of Reciprocity and Non-reciprocity in SAPTA/SAFTA

This Workshop will explore the legal-cum-economic aspects of the SAARC and it will provide a platform for the discussion and possible outcome emphasising on the need to strengthen the legal cooperation and capacity building among the Member Countries.

The Centre invites the participants from the generation of academicians, research scholars, students, lawyers, economists, etc. We expect the active participation of the invitees.

Contact to participate: (saarclawcentre[at-the-rate-of]gmail[dot]com

) [url=http://www.saarclawcentre.org\]M K Nambyar SAARCLAW Centre[/url]