South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation

About SASEC

South Asia is one of the poorest subregions in the world. The majority is concentrated in the eastern region, an area comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, the eastern states of India, and Nepal.

This subregion presents the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with its greatest challenge in the fight against poverty.

Yet this challenge can be transformed into an opportunity because it has a remarkable combination of potentials:

• Large Workforce: It has a huge pool of hard working and disciplined workers who earn relatively low wages. With investments to develop their skills, this work force could offer the region a major competitive advantage.

• Fertile Ricefields: It has the rice fields of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins, which constitute one of the largest granaries in the world. With investments to improve agricultural productivity-and efficient water management-- these ricefields can comfortably feed the large workforce of the region at reasonable prices.

• Energy Potential: It has hydropower potential in Nepal and Bhutan, the coal in India's West Bengal and Bihar states, and oil and gas in Bangladesh, India's Assam and Tripura.

• Other Natural Resources: It has rich mineral deposits, forest resources, livestock and marine resources.

• Ports: It has a network of ports in Chittagong, Mongla, Kolkata, and Haldia.

The subregion is also strategically significant as the gateway linking the whole of South Asia to Southeast Asia and East Asia. It is a vital geopolitical link in the Asian economic community. It is the long-term vision of transforming the subregion - and its potential role in integration across Asian subregions - that underlies ADB's strong commitment in the area.