Equalizing Opportunities: Women in Regional Trade in South Asia

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Striving for Clean Air in South Asia

Cross-border approaches to tackle air pollution

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Deepening Linkages between South Asia and Southeast Asia

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$1.03 billion boost to regional trade and transport in South Asia

The Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia Program will help Bangladesh and Nepal address the key barriers to regional trade

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Read the latest blog Read the SAWI Completion Report

Innovate & Mitigate

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Technology converts human potential into progress in South Asia

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E-commerce creates opportunities for small businesses in South Asia

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What's new in #OneSouthAsia?

Women at the forefront of revitalizing Bhutan's villages

The Buddhist Circuit Development Program in South Asia focuses on unlocking the untapped potential of South Asia’s cross-border heritage as a driver of inclusive growth and prosperity. Read how women in Bhutan are revitalizing traditional villages and at the same time creating income generating opportunities at their doorsteps.

Read how change is brewing in Nepal

Editorial series on climate cooperation in South Asia

South Asia is among the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change and disasters. These risks and challenges are not limited by national borders. Cross-border cooperation is needed to strengthen the region’s collective resilience, reform and harmonize climate policies. Our latest Editorial series, in collaboration with ICIMOD and The Third Pole, presents various perspectives on cross-border approaches for strengthening climate cooperation in the region.

South Asia Hydromet Forum

In South Asia, people are experiencing the effects of a warming climate. Almost 750 million people -- half of South Asia’s population -- were affected by at least one climate-related disaster in the last two decades. The South Asia Hydromet Forum (SAHF) supports regional engagement to promote collaboration and enhance capacity at the regional and sub-regional levels towards improving Hydromet, Early Warning and Climate Services in South Asia.

$1.03 billion boost to regional connectivity and trade

June 28, 2022: The World Bank approved $1.03 billion of financing to help improve regional trade in Bangladesh and Nepal. This project will help reduce trade and transport costs, and transit time along the regional corridors.

South Asia's digital opportunity

March 31, 2022: How can South Asian nations leapfrog and transform into dynamic digital economies, societies, and governments, with concerted actions at national and regional levels. Our 10th #OneSouthAsia Conversation explored these challenges and opportunities.

Cooperation to protect the Sundarbans

April, 2022: The Sundarbans landscape is the largest mangrove forests in the world and home to one of the most biodiverse ecosystems. But over 13 million people who inhabit this stretch between India and Bangladesh live on the edge of poverty. This unique ecosystem is increasingly under threat from human activities, natural disasters of greater frequency and magnitude, and climate change. India and Bangladesh face similar challenges and aspirations and regional cooperation to protect this ecosystem is imperative.

Easing border delays, trade costs in BBIN subregion

Jan 24, 2022 - Bangladesh and Nepal are developing National Single Windows to speed up exports and imports. The windows will accept electronic trade documents, reducing clearance delays and shipping costs. Plans for the World Bank projects benefitted from United Kingdom and Australian funding to improve trade facilitation in the subregion.

New technology piloted for climate resilience in South Asia

Jan. 5, 2022 - Sixteen cutting-edge technologies received Climate Innovation Challenge grants to pilot climate resilience in water, transportation, and agriculture in South Asia. The grants are funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as part of the World Bank's Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) project for South Asia with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES).

Cross-border business investments can boost COVID-19 recovery

Nov. 22, 2021 - Governments can help the private sector create jobs by easing restrictions on investments so companies can open trade offices, build manufacturing plants, and license services in a neighboring country. Also needed are industry meetings and transboundary women’s networks -- interventions that are low cost and high impact. A new report describes how a handful of firms such as Sri Lanka's Brandix, Pakistan's Soorty Enterprises, Nepal's CG Foods, and India’s Taj Hotels overcame barriers to expand across borders within the region.

Women entrepreneurs in Nepal serve coffee, snacks, and hope

Jan. 11, 2022 - Amma Cafe in Lumbini, Nepal was launched by women entrepreneurs as part of a project to create local jobs near Buddhist sites visited by religious pilgrims and tourists. The women attended literacy classes, cooking classes, and hospitality training; surveyed potential clients; and selected a menu based on local ingredients. To help address husbands' hesitation, the women and their families also attended workshops against gender-based violence.

Read about the Buddhist Circuit project

Advancing regional cooperation

The World Bank's Regional Integration, Cooperation, and Engagement work supports regional activities in South Asia to promote economic connectivity, climate change resilience, and human development. All three can create jobs and fight poverty.

Our approach focuses on transboundary issues in South Asia such as energy, trade, transport, water management, climate change adaptation, and women's economic empowerment. We work with other World Bank teams, partners, and the following trust funds:

Our Regional Strategy

The World Bank's work to support South Asia regional integration

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Infographic about World Bank efforts to support regional cooperation in South Asia

Read about our approach

VIDEO

VIDEO Feb 14, 2023

Bhutan's Hydropower Potential for Cleaner Energy

Bhutan is a game changer in South Asia with its immense clean energy resource. Over 32,000 MW of #hydropower potential, of which 2,335 MW has been installed. This is a resource that is affordable, clean, and will help displace the use of more fossil fuels, especially for countries like India and Bangladesh. Our estimates indicate that regional electricity trade can reduce carbon emissions from overall electricity generation by 8 % to 10% in the region.

MULTIMEDIA

VIDEO Feb 24, 2023

Sustainable Fisheries in Maldives

In the Maldives, sustainable fishing industry contributes to income for over 20% of the population and to 4.5 % of the GDP. The nation has a lot to gain from working with neighbors in the Indian Ocean to share and agree on good practices on fisheries management, and can also benefit from regional and global cooperation in areas like coastal resilience, combating marine plastics, blue economy, and achieving its ambitious net targets zero by 2030.

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Cecile Fruman
Director
Regional Integration and Engagement - South Asia

@CFruman