Revived rail link will spur growth

The long-awaited rail service between India and Bangladesh is a welcome move initiated to increase people-to-people contact between the two neighbouring South Asian countries that share a long common border, culture and heritage.

This comes following the re-establishment of a rail and road link between India and Pakistan helping thousands of South Asians to rekindle lost ties with long-lost friends and relatives and observe developments between the two countries.

The move is in line with creating economic integration in South Asia - hosting nearly a fourth of mankind. These steps will reduce tensions across borders, boost tourism and help investment and trade within the region - one of the fastest growing in the world.

The seven South Asian states, which created the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 1983, have miles to go before creating a common market prior to the formation of a free trade area.

However, following the South Asia Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA), the region needed more confidence-building measures, thanks to common mistrust and the spectre of terrorism.

The creation of a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) thus is in the common interest of the people of South Asia. As is the revived rail link.