Lack of international infrastructure connectivity in South Asia hinders trade growth.

The keynote speaker of the regional infrastructure and its integration session was Nepal's former ambassador to India and former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission. Shankar Sharma said that although South Asia is a large region in terms of population and geography, it is the least interconnected and integrated region in terms of infrastructure development. "In order to increase regional trade in South Asia, the transport links between the countries here will have to be increased," he said. He said that there is a political problem due to the low level of cooperation and especially due to the cold relations between India and Pakistan, it is also affecting this region .

In order to achieve low cost and high returns, Dr. Dr. Sharma emphasized. Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal, who presided over the

session, said that the government has prioritized the issue of increasing interoperability through the development of the transport sector in South Asia. "Affiliations will be increased through the development of aviation, railways, roads and ships". Likewise, the issue of advancing the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement and doing the necessary work to increase international trade and economy is the priority of the government," he said. He informed that 57 projects under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport are based on foreign assistance. Another key speaker of the

session, Bo Lingam, Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia's AirAsia Group, said that AirAsia is the fourth largest airline company in Asia and that it is in the process of starting service in Nepal as well. "This will contribute significantly to the growth of transport and tourism in Nepal and will contribute to increasing the number of tourists coming from the south-eastern region of Nepal," he said. He said that Nepal's role will be important to increase international and interregional cooperation in the tourism sector through air flights.

Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising said that the construction of international transmission lines has been prioritized. He said that the construction of some transmission lines with India has accelerated and efforts are being made to connect transmission lines necessary for the export of electricity to Bangladesh.

Soumya Chattopadhyay, senior program officer of the Asian Development Bank's residential mission in India, said that they are working on project construction, trade growth, etc. to increase transport connectivity in the countries within SASEC. The bank is investing heavily,' he said.

Rajan Sharma, the former president of Nepal Freight Forwarders Association, said that there are many challenges due to the lack of laws related to freight forwarders. He told that although it is an important stakeholder of business, it does not get the necessary facilities and ease. "The biggest problem is the lack of effective coordination between the relevant bodies involved in transportation, be it within the country or internationally," he said.

session's The moderator was Khadga Bahadur Bista, Executive Director of Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Nepal.