Asian Development Bank

SASEC: Powering Asia in the 21st Century Asian Development Bank

The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) vision provides the premise that SASEC countries-Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka-which have grown robustly in recent years, can tap each other's strength to realize their potential of propelling Asia's future growth. They can harness their individual comparative advantages by cooperating better in facilitating trade and enhancing connectivity, and providing the subregion's produce, better access to global and regional markets. The SASEC Vision demonstrates how enormous benefits can be achieved through regional cooperation, by leveraging opportunities and synergies between three levers-natural resources, industrial potential, and connectivity.