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Synopsis With the Sixteenth SAARC Summit taking place on 28-29 April, 2010 at Thimpu, Bhutan, all eyes are focused once again on the event and what it signifies. It is time indeed to take stock of SAARC’s progress till date, the road it has traversed and the path that lies ahead. With Sri Lanka at the helm, SAARC has definitely moved on covering a lot of its chosen agenda, especially in areas like energy, environment, poverty alleviation, trade facilitation and also in combating terrorism which has lately raised its ugly head in South Asia too. With Bhutan at the helm now, which is holding the SAARC Summit for the first time, SAARC expects to cover a lot more distance towards the realisation of its cherished objectives.

In this background, Foundation for Peace and Sustainable Development (FPSD) thought it appropriate to bring out another volume highlighting different aspects of the overall growth of the region at this juncture. It has collected a large number of papers written by experts in different fields ranging from trade and economics to climate change and from the realisation of MDGs to preserving the region’s environment. The publication is being released on the eve of the Sixteenth Summit to provide a wider perspective on SAARC affairs for the benefit of all interested in the welfare and advancement of the approximately two billion peoples of the SAARC Region. Significantly, it coincides with the 25th year of the birth of SAARC and that adds a special relevance and immediacy to the present volume.