Forging Subregional Links in Transportation and Logistics in South Asia

Countries are increasingly connected by markets, trade, finance, resources transport, information, and communication. South Asian countries face a unique opportunity to participate competitively in this global production and trading system. This will only be achieved if they can meet the market demands that call for high quality products and services and just-in-time delivery. 'Forging Subregional Links in Transportation and Logistics in South Asia' focuses on a poor sub-region of South Asia covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Eastern India. As the South Asian countries position themselves to take part in global and regional markets, their efforts and opportunities to find markets within and outside the region are severely limited due to serious transportation and logistic impediments. The issues involved in efficient regional transport are complex. They involve not only physical infrastructure related bottlenecks but also procedural and policy issues. This report helps forge partnerships and collaboration in the sub-region, and promotes trade, investment, growth, and employment through the innovative analytic framework that supports more open dialog among countries and public and private sector groups in the region.