Economic Integration in South Asia

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The Case for Integrating the Infrastructure Networks, Transport and Communication: Links of South Asian Countries

Introduction

Six of the eight countries of South Asia—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan—are geographically contiguous neighbours. Sri Lanka is an island country separated from the southern coast of India by the Palk Straits, which varies in width (between 22 miles and 30 miles) as well as depth. Only Maldives consists of a string of several hundred islands in the Indian Ocean, a long distance away from the nearest neighbouring country of South Asia. Out of the six geographically contiguous countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan do not share a common border with any of the other three countries; ...