Regionalism in South Asia: The emergence and growth of SAARC as a forum of economic integration

The fact is that the idea of regionalism in South Asia is not new one. But as a regional forum, it emerged in 1985 as well as the idea of regional cooperation was mooted by Bangladesh. After that such cooperation is taking place both bilaterally and multilaterally among the member states of SAARC as a regional organization. However, some of the scholars assume the fact that South Asia is a turbulent region. Today India and Pakistan are known as the states to disturb peace and tranquility of this region. But in spite of this, SAARC is making progress in the economic perspectives, and transport connectivity among South Asian Countries may be observed. Thus, the present paper highlights some basic aspects of regional cooperation in South Asia through the emergence of SAARC as a forum of economic integration.