ADB approves change to strengthen research institutes in South Asia

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a major change in scope to cover the additional inputs of $50,000 equivalent from ADB's TA funding programme to promote regional cooperation in South Asia, including Pakistan by strengthening the current initiatives and networks of research institutes and enhancing the scope of analytical work undertaken.
For increasing interaction among regional experts, and widening the dissemination of research material that supports regional cooperation are other objectives. According to sources, a request was made for ADB's financial and technical support for the next annual conference of South Asia Network of Economic Research Institutes (Sanei) at the ADB's annual meeting in May 2007 in Kyoto, Japan.
SANEI was set up in 1998 to promote cooperation and collaboration in research in the region. It was established by six prominent research institutes in South Asia: the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER); National Institute of Public Finance & Policy (NIPFP), India; Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE); Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Bangladesh; Marga Institute, Sri Lanka; and Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), Nepal.

Sanei's current membership includes 48 prominent research institutes from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Sanei's annual conference promotes networking of researchers and collaborative economic research in the region and helps to disseminate research findings.
Seven conferences have been held so far in different cities in South Asia. The eighth Sanei conference is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu on August 31, and September 1, 2007. The theme of the conference is "South Asian Agriculture in post Doha Round".
The eighth conference will disseminate the findings of completed and ongoing research to a selected audience of senior academics and policy makers. Feedback received at the conference will greatly help to improve the quality of research outputs, and to further enhance research capacity in the region. The expected interaction between policy makers and academics will help push forward the reform agenda in South Asia.
These activities will further strengthen "Track Two" measures. The conference is in line with the declaration of the most recent Saarc Summit, which promoted a vision of South Asian community.
Where there will be a smooth flow of goods, services, peoples, technologies, knowledge, capital, culture and ideas in the region. To carry out this conference, ADB sources mentioned that the TA amount is proposed to be increased to $275,000 from $225,000, to be provided on a grant basis from ADB's TA funding programme.