BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

Dr. Mohammad Mahfuz Kabir, Research Fellow of BIISS, participated in the Conference titled Korea-South Asia Cooperation in an Era of Rising South Asia, held at LOTTE Hotel World, Seoul, South Korea, on 25 November 2010. The Conference was organised by Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), a leading government think-tank of South Korea, and sponsored by National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRCS). The Conference brought together prominent scholars, including a number of policymakers, from South Asia as well as from the South Korean academia. Topics related to Trade, FDI, and regional dynamics of South Asia (including SAARC and SAFTA) were discussed and ideas for strengthening Korea-South Asia cooperation were shared. Dr Kabir presented a paper in the conference titled Non-economic Obstacles in the Prospects of SAARC & SAFTA in the Conference. He made another presentation in the Panel Discussion session of the Conference titled Bangladesh-South Korea Trade and Economic Cooperation: Current State and Future Options. Dr Kabir also participated in a Seminar titled South Asia Pool Seminar: SAFTA and the Developments of Trade Policies in South Asia, organised by KIEP, held at KIEP Auditorium, Seoul, on 26 November 2010. In the Seminar presentations were made on the trade policies of three major countries of South Asia ? Bangladesh, Pakistan and India ? focusing on bilateral and regional trade agreements. Dr Kabir made a presentation in the Seminar titled Bangladesh's Trade Policy: Focus on Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements. Eminent scholars from South Asian and South Korea were present in the event.