South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation

SASEC - South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation
Updated: 19 September 2008

SASEC Mission: "From Poverty to Growth: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities"

The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program is helping transform challenges into opportunities in one of the world's poorest, most densely populated areas.

The South Asian subcontinent is home to more than half of Asia's poor. About 500 million out of an estimated 900 million poor people in Asia and the Pacific live in the region. The majority are concentrated in the eastern subregion, an area comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, the eastern states of India, and Nepal. This subregion represents the greatest challenge in the fight against poverty.

South Asia is one of the poorest subregions in the world. However, because of the region's unique endowment of resources, it can be transformed into a leading subregion of economic growth.