Maritime Ports: Regional Trade and Shared Prosperity in South Asia

This event does not require any registration. For livestream, join us on Thursday, January 23, 8 am ET.

The 20^th OneSouthAsia Conversation, held in partnership with the Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce, will focus on the role of maritime ports in increasing regional and global trade and supporting shared prosperity in South Asia. The discussion will convene senior representatives from government sectors, leading private enterprises, and international development agencies to discuss the opportunities of improving regional connectivity and driving trade through improvements in maritime port infrastructure, service provision, government policy and regulation, and institutional capacity. It will also focus on emerging challenges in the industry including green transition, efficient and sustainable hinterland connectivity, and digitalization.

The event will be streamed live on this page and does not require registration. You can send us your questions priod at OneSouthAsia@worldbank.org 

Background and context     

Improved connectivity is key to South Asia’s greater economic development. In the last few decades, improvement of infrastructure has had remarkable effects on development and growth at the country-level. Infrastructure stock has expanded nationally. Ongoing port development in the region—from planning through to construction— is estimated to be at $73 billion. However, there is much more that South Asian countries need to do together to improve regional connectivity.

The shipping and maritime sector provides a lifeline by linking production centers in South Asia with consumers in Europe and North America and raw material exporters in East Asia. In 2023, the combined merchandise exports of Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka amounted to US$528 billion.

Maritime ports are also critical for transshipments within the region. For instance, the Colombo Port serves as major transshipment hub for South Asian countries including India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and handles estimated over 15% of South Asia's total transshipment volume. It plays a critical role in South Asia's regional growth by facilitating trade between countries in the region and beyond through its strategic location of being situated on the East-West Main Sea Route in the Indian Ocean

In South Asia, about 75 % of the region’s international trade by value is transported by sea, including a significant portion of intraregional trade. But overall intraregional trade is still very low—it is barely 5 % of South Asia's total trade, compared to 25 % and more in ASEAN. Annual intraregional trade among South Asian countries currently totals just $23 billion —far below an estimated value of at least $67 billion.

Better port services, as an important link to the overall regional transport network, will enhance both international and intraregional trade. Amidst growing economic disruptions and political uncertainties, the need for stronger resilient connectivity has gained high importance, not only to strengthen the supply chain resiliency, but also to facilitate trade, reduce costs, within the region and beyond.

A World Bank report on Competitiveness of South Asia Ports (2016) finds that if every South Asian container port performed as well as the region’s best, costs of maritime transport for South Asian exports would decrease by up to 8.8 % and exports would increase by up to 7%.  

 South Asia’s port sector has made great progress over the years but there is still more work to be done. New challenges and emerging opportunities require that Ports continually adapt. Areas such as the low-carbon energy sources, digitalization, port-city interface, and stakeholder engagement offer great potential to work with each other to find solutions that work for the region at scale. Ports serve as entry and exit points for a vast majority of South Asia’s imports and exports, and play a critical role in regional trade corridors. 

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When: Thursday, Jan 23, 8 am ET

Where: Online, livestreamed on this page

Email Qs at: onesouthasia@worldbank.org