Regional cooperation vital to face global challenges:

SAESM promotes academic interaction

by Gamini WARUSHAMANA

"Fostering regional cooperation at grassroots level is the appropriate answer to a globalised world growing ever closer.

German Ambassador Jens Plotner addresses the SAESM Pic: Vipula Amarasinghe

Today no country alone can live up to the demands of our time. Cooperation is therefore paramount be it between individuals or nations," said German Ambassador Jens Plotner.

He was addressing the 7th South Asia Economic Students Meet (SAESM) in Colombo last week. Plotner said that cross cultural networking will strengthen students ability to understand the challenges that they as individuals and as members of developing societies face.

The SAESM was held from November 29 to December 4 with the participation of over 250 undergraduate economics students from universities in five South Asian countries Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The theme of this year's conference was 'Economic Freedom and Poverty Reduction in South Asia'.

This event provides a great opportunity to a large number of economics undergraduates to meet their counterparts in the region and interact and learn from each other, with exposure and training in academic paper presentations.

The conference was organised by undergraduate students under the guidance of staff members.

Head of the Economics Department of the University of Colombo, Dr. Athula Ranasinghe said that these students will be the future leaders, policy makers and managers in the region and they will create greater integration in the region.

The 7th SAESM consisted a students' conference, quiz competition, budding economics competition and a field trip for foreign participants. SAESM, the annual conference of undergraduate students of South Asia universities was inaugurated in 2003 by academic staff members of four leading universities in the region with the objective of promoting understanding of economic development and regional cooperation amongst the students.

The four institutions- the departments of economics of Ramajas College University of Delhi, India, Lahore University of Management Science, Pakistan, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and University of Colombo, Sri Lanka initiate the program and coordinate, the event.

The first SAESM was held in 2004 in New Delhi, the second in 2005 in Lahore, third in 2006 in Dhaka, fourth in 2007 in Colombo, fifth in 2008 in New Delhi and sixth in 2009 in Dhaka and hosted by coordinating institutions.

The event is organised with financial sponsorship from governments, private sector institutions and donor agencies and the SAESM has been recognised as an important initiative to build capacities of economics graduates in South Asian universities.