The meeting of the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Trade Facilitation Working Group (TFWG) was held on 10-11 September, 2026 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Bhutanese delegation was led by the Director, Department of Trade, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment. The Bhutan delegation comprised of representatives from the Department of Economic and Tech Diplomacy (DETD), Department of Revenue and Customs (DRC), Department of Macro-Fiscal and Development Finance (DMDF), Department of Trade (DoTr), and Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT). The meeting was attended by more than 50 delegates from the SASEC member countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar (virtually), Nepal and Sri Lanka, along with officials from the Asian Development Bank, and the SASEC Secretariat.
The TFWG session on 11 September 2026, focused on the four strategic pillars of the SASEC Strategy for 2035 for Trade Facilitation(SST2035): modernisation and harmonisation of cargo clearance procedures, digitalisation, strengthening national conformance regimes, and coordination and cooperation among trade facilitation stakeholders.
The meeting further considered the findings of trade facilitation gap analysis work, updates on SPS-TBT Inventorization studies, and priorities and projects under the Action Plan for SASEC Initiatives (APSI) 2026–2028.
The TFWG also had a combined session with the Transport Working Group on 10 September 2026, focusing on intersecting areas of transport and trade facilitation. Discussions covered the progression of trade corridors towards Highly Facilitated Trade Corridors (HFTC), the Comprehensive Trade Gateway Ecosystem Development programme, regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS), Cross-Border Coordinated Border Management (CBCBM) and identification of key trade gateways and improving connectivity within the SASEC area.
The SASEC TFWG is dedicated to promoting regional cooperation, integration and facilitating smoother cross-border trade among the SASEC member countries in line with global standards and practices. The outcomes of the meeting complemented the ongoing initiatives to meet the overall objective of promoting regional prosperity, improving economic opportunities and building a better quality of life for the people of the subregion.
