The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program, set up in 2001, brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in a project-based partnership to promote regional prosperity by improving cross-border connectivity, boosting trade among member countries, and strengthening regional economic cooperation.

[1] As of June 2020, SASEC countries have implemented 61[2] regional projects worth over $13 billion in the energy, transport, trade facilitation, economic corridor development, and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors.

[4] This is partly because transport systems in South Asia have been developed with primarily national priorities in mind, rather than with a view to boosting trade by improving cross-border connectivity.

As a result, the region has invested insufficiently in critical infrastructure, and cross-border trading systems suffer from a lack of uniformity and compatibility.

The dominance of certain fuel types in certain countries – coal in India, gas in Bangladesh, and hydropower in Bhutan and Nepal – leaves them vulnerable to import dependence.

Better telecommunications connections would also expand personal and business links, increasing trade at all levels [6] In 1996, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, a subset of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), formed the South Asian Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ) aimed at boosting cooperation in environment, energy and power, trade and investment, transport, and tourism.

The initial four member countries then requested ADB assistance to promote economic cooperation in the subregion, leading to the creation of the SASEC Program in 2001.

The SASEC Secretariat also coordinates capacity-building activities and works to identify necessary technical organizations and development partners to strengthen training and knowledge-building programs for member countries.