ABSTRACT
This chapter explores South Asia’s greater integration in Asia with a special emphasis on looking beyond the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It provides an overview of the regional integration initiatives in South Asia, and analyses the attempts for greater regional integration in Asia and the Pacific and the role of the RCEP. The chapter explores the implications of RCEP for the South Asian countries. It utilizes the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) global general equilibrium model to explore the trade and economic impact of free trade agreements (FTA) and trade facilitation between Bangladesh and East and Southeast Asia. The chapter suggests that as the sole party from South Asia, RCEP has created significant opportunities for India to integrate with the advanced economies in Asia and the Pacific and to participate further with the global value chains. The RCEP can help regionalize the sophisticated global production networks that make Asia the world’s factory.
