May 2022 - Issue 18 South Asia Regional Integration and Engagement Team Dear readers, Last month I traveled to India —my first visit to the country as the Director for Regional Integration and Engagement. India is a key influencer in South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region, with a central role in regional cooperation and connectivity. It shares either land or maritime borders with all South Asian countries except Afghanistan. It accounts for nearly 72% of the region’s population, and 76% of its gross domestic product. My meetings with senior government officials, think tanks, and civil society representatives reaffirmed India’s strong interest and demand for regional connectivity and collaboration with the neighborhood. There is an enhanced momentum on regional multi-modal connectivity including inland waterways, and integrated power markets in the eastern sub-region There is also keen interest and scope for strengthening digital cooperation in areas like cross-border payments, infrastructure development, and cross-border data flows, with adequate protections. This was reflected at the Raisina Dialogue, India’s premium knowledge conference, where I moderated a session on Harnessing Connectivity, Commerce and Creativity, and featured our report on South Asia’s Digital Opportunity. This report outlines pathways for a robust regional digital economy.     I wrapped up my trip with a visit to the Sundarbans, home to the largest mangrove forest in the world and over 13 million people, many of whom live on the edge of poverty. This unique ecosystem is increasingly under threat from natural disasters, climate change, and human activity. It needs urgent collaborative efforts between India and Bangladesh to conserve nature and offer better livelihoods. Staying with collective climate action, our 11th #OneSouthAsia Conversation explored innovative and collaborative solutions for climate resilience. It featured two initiatives supported by our program—Tech Emerge Resilience and Climate Innovation Challenge that are piloting innovative and scalable solutions for climate resilience across the region. The event details are below.   Until next time,  Cecile @CFruman OneSouthAsia@worldbank.org Our 11 th #OneSouthAsia Conversation on ways to innovate, collaborate, and mitigate   Watch our previous #OneSouthAsia Conversations  Recommended Reading South Asia's Digital Opportunity: Accelerating Growth, Transforming Lives The report presents opportunities and bottlenecks for a stronger digital economy, both at country and regional levels. It emphasizes enabling access, adoption of high-quality affordable broadband, initiating a paradigm shift in building digital public platforms, and accelerating digital financial services. It also recommends regional digital cooperation that entails cross-border connectivity, data infrastructure, and payment systems. Read the report. and watch our related  #OneSouthAsia event. South Asia Water Initiative Completion Report  This report summarizes results and outcomes for the South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI) Phase 2 (from 2013-2021). SAWI’s objective was to increase regional cooperation in the management of the major Himalayan river systems in South Asia to deliver sustainable, fair, and inclusive development and climate resilience. The multi- donor trust fund closed in July 2021. Read the report.   Blog: Navigating Shared Waters South Asia is home to almost 1.9 billion people and over 23% of humanity is cradled by its 20 major rivers. But the region accounts for only 4% of the world’s annual renewable water. This reserve is not only disproportionately insufficient for its large population, but also not stable across geographies. Read a blog on how the recently closed program—South Asia Water Initiative— supported efforts to navigate shared waters in the region.  Reshaping Norms: A New Way Forward The latest issue of the South Asia Economic Focus describes recent economic developments, analyzes the economic impact on South Asia of the war in Ukraine, presents growth forecasts, provides risk scenarios, and concludes that reshaping economies goes hand in hand with reshaping norms, including the existing gender norms. Read here. Latest Videos Video Blog: Collaborative Efforts to Protect the Sundarbans The Sundarbans landscape is the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to one of the most biodiverse ecosystems. There is a need for enhanced collaborative efforts between India and Bangladesh to protect this unique ecosystem, which is increasingly under threat. Watch the video on our website.   Video Blog: India's Role in Regional Cooperation India has an important role to play in terms of setting and implementing the agenda for regional integration and cooperation in South Asia. Sharing a few reflections from the recent India trip. Watch it here.  Raisina Dialogue: Harnessing Connectivity, Commerce and Creativity Driven by a rising consumer class, strong start-up ecosystem, growing internet economy and a demographic dividend, the digital wave is reshaping and redefining almost every aspect of business and society in South Asia. How can countries tap this potential and build stronger digital economies, both at national and regional levels? Watch the Raisina Dialogue event.      #OneSouthAsia in News  The Print:  It takes 138 hrs, 55 signatures to move 1 truck from India to Bangladesh: World Bank The Economic Times:  India needs to remove trade restrictions, reduce tariffs in South Asia The Telegraph:  Call for easier goods flow across borders Other Resources Report:  Plastic Waste: A Journey Down the Indus River Basin in Pakistan Blog: Maintaining a Sustainable and Resilient Recovery in Nepal Report:  What Do We Know About Interventions to Increase Women’s Economic Participation and Empowerment in South Asia Blog: India Seeks to Arrest its Alarming Decline in Groundwater Research Paper: Trucking Costs and the Margins of Internal Trade : Evidence from a Trucking Portal in India #OneSouthAsia This newsletter is produced by the World Bank's team for regional Connect with us: integration, cooperation, and engagement in South Asia. Our work focuses on three areas: economic connectivity, climate resilience, Explore success stories on OneSouthAsia website and human development. Read more about our approach Engage with us on Twitter with hashtag #OneSouthAsia here and watch a video.  Visit us on Facebook at World Bank South Asia   Email comments to OneSouthAsia@worldbank.org Some work has been funded through programs supported by our Learn about our programs: Program for Asia Connectivity and partners: United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Trade, Program for Asia Resilience to Climate Change, South Development Office, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs Asia Regional Trade Facilitation Program, and South Asia and Trade. Water Initiative.   Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Click here to subscribe  Copyright (c) 2021 World Bank Group, All rights reserved. Unsubscribe from this list