About the South Asia Economic Summit (SAES)

The South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) was initiated as a platform to discuss and debate the issues perceived as critical to advancing the causes of deepening regional cooperation and integration in South Asia.

Five leading think tanks from South Asia have been organizing the SAES on an annual basis since its launch in 2008. SAES has emerged as a reputed platform bringing together the research community, policymakers, lawmakers, the private sector and the broader civil society to deliberate on issues of interest to the South Asia region, identify new avenues of cooperation and generate creative and practical ideas for forging a collective way forward. A wide range of development partners have supported this endeavour.

The think tanks spearheading this initiative are Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan; Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh; South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal; Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Sri Lanka and Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India.

SAES was initiated by realising that there was a need for a deeper understanding of the challenges confronting South Asia at a time of rapid changes within the region and in view of a fast-evolving global scenario. SAES was conceived as a two-track learning opportunity: (i) for knowledge actors to share results of evidence-based research and what these could mean in terms of policymaking in various critical areas of development and regional cooperation in South Asia; and (ii) for policymakers and non-state actors to exchange views as regards major challenges in implementing the various policies and initiatives to deepen South Asian integration. By leveraging contributions from across a diverse range of disciplines and by drawing contributions from research and policymaking communities, SAES was envisaged to emerge as an intellectual enterprise important in South Asia from which policymakers, researchers and non-state sectors would stand to gain.

In the process, a new generation of intellectuals and actors was motivated to commit themselves to advance the cause of South Asian cooperation. This regionally motivated network of stakeholders has kept the South Asia vision alive at a time when divisive politics has kept South Asian countries apart, and SAARC remains comatose and dysfunctional. These non-state actors are willing and able to shine a light on the possibilities and potentials of South Asian cooperation in view of the new global emerging contexts SAES XIV is geared to leverage this intellectual capacity to reignite the political inertia and stimulate interest and action to take the agenda of South Asian cooperation forward in the years ahead.

The following table shows that various themes of past and upcoming SAES conclaves have covered a broad spectrum of issues reflecting both emergent and emerging challenges facing South Asia at that time.

16th SAES being held in Islamabad, Pakistan

Panels

1. 1:

   Roundtable Strategic Dialogue Accelerating SDGs in the World Today – Challenges and Opportunities

2. 2:

   High-Level Opening Policy Dialogue Circular Economy in South Asia

3. 3:

   Alternative Finance Strategy – Closing the Fiscal Gap for Sustainable Development

4. 4:

   High-Level Policy Dialogue Rewiring Economic and Fiscal Planning for Climate Prosperity

5. 5:

   Roundtable Dialogue Strengthening the Role of Parliament in Public Debt Management in Pakistan

6. 6:

   Sustainable Cities and Communities

7. 7:

   The Economy of Green Skills in Pakistan – Building a Future-Ready Workforce

8. 8:

   Designing the Transition to a Circular Economy in South Asia

9. 9:

   South Asian Coalition for Improved Nutrition (SACIN): Transforming Food Systems through Fiscal and Trade Policies Reforms

10. 10:

    Regional Dialogue Accelerating Green Industrialisation: Policy Pathways, Opportunities and Challenges

11. 11:

    High-Level Plenary Mobilising Finance for Circular South Asia: Blended Finance, Regional Funds and Private Capital

12. 12:

    Roundtable Tariff Turbulence: Policy Options for Global Trade Governance

13. 13:

    Moving Beyond GDP: Towards Inclusive Wealth

14. 14:

    Policy Dialogue Telecom and the Digital Future of Pakistan: Artificial Intelligence, Connectivity, and the Frontiers of Development

15. 15:

    Development Beyond 2030: Rethinking Global Priorities in an Age of Disruption

South Asia Economic Summit (SAES): 2008–2025

Each of the SAES meets has come up with a concrete set of recommendations based on the discussions at various dedicated sessions, which saw evidence-based presentations and lively exchange of opinions among leading scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and representatives from civil society organisations (CSOs). Recommendations originating from SAES events were shared with policymakers in SAARC countries and were also fed into the SAARC Summit process.

16^th SAES Partners