Plan for a South Asian Trade Zone Advances

The impoverished nations of South Asia agreed Friday on the framework for a free trade zone that would encompass one-fifth of the world’s population, a step that could further improve relations between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan.

The broad framework of the accord, which would start tearing down tariffs Jan. 1, 2006, was reached during talks here by foreign ministers preparing for the first summit in two years of the leaders of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan -- collectively home to hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest people. The trade agreement would allow the free flow of goods and services and the establishment of a regional development bank to promote cooperation among the nations’ central banks, Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said.

Still, with poverty endemic in the region and a history of political instability and conflict that goes back centuries, such an accord faces serious challenges.

Although it may not produce short-term benefits for South Asia’s people, the agreement could eventually bring more jobs to a region with high unemployment.

National leaders will review the accord when they meet Sunday through Tuesday here in the Pakistani capital, where security is extraordinarily tight in the wake of two assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf last month.