Background

This project seeks to address the regional trade cooperation issues to develop and strengthen a sense of unity and understanding amongst the member nations of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) during negotiations at the multilateral level. The project will specifically facilitate the common position formulation process of SAARC countries required for WTO negotiations. Research, Documentation, Sensitisation, Capacity building, Policy and media advocacy are the major focus areas of the PROACT Phase III project.

PROACT Phase I was implemented between June 1999 and June 2002 while Phase II was undertaken between September 2003 and September 2004. PROACT Phase III was launched in October 2004 and will be completed in October 2007.

Partners

The project is supported by Novib (Oxfam Netherlands), The Hague.

Mission

Building the capacity of various stakeholders in South Asia to create a favorable atmosphere in the formation of and commitment to a common position of SAARC countries during WTO negotiations underpinning the concept of the 'development dimension.'

Objectives

• Creating awareness amongst stakeholders through various publications.
• Building the capacity of stakeholders to understand and tackle various WTO related issues especially in the context of formation and commitment to a common position of South Asian governments.
• Conducting policy advocacy for the identification of common concerns of South Asian countries in order to pursue a collective approach to WTO related issues.