Members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation have called for removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to boost regional trade and investment .They also strongly advocated for preparing a road map for regional economic union. Addressing the two day meeting of first South Asia Foundation in New Delhi, Pakistani delegation head Farzana Raja, who is a member of the National Assembly said the economic integration of the region should not be held hostage to historical legacies, differences and political disputes. She called for implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) in letter and spirit. Nepal's Land Reform and Management Minister Prabhu Sah said the implementation SAFTA was hindered by tariff, non-tariff and para-tariff barriers. He said SAARC members should take lessons from the success of economic integration in Europe and other parts of the world. Maldives Minister of Finance Ahmed Inaz said his country will reduce the sensitive list of goods by 60 percent as against 20 percent reduction required under the SAFTA. He emphasized on the need for allowing greater movement of people among the SAARC region. Earlier in his inagaural address Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that a range of tariff and non-tariff barriers have prevented businesses from developing value in the neighbourhood .He said the South Asia region is geographically and culturally designed for the widest possible cooperation but in reality, is the least integrated region in the world. Addressing the meeting the commerce minister Anand Sharma said New Delhi is committed to reduce tariff by 20 per cent for SAARC countries by next month. This will meet India's commitment to reduce the tariffs under the sensitive list. He informed that India has been bringing down the peak tariffs under SAFTA in a very transparent manner for imports from Pakistan and the peak rates will be 8 per cent. He called for creating a more conducive investment climate to promote the trade among the members of the group countries. It is at present just 13 billion US dollars. AIR correspondent reports that South Asia leaders, at the 16th SAARC summit in Thimphu last year, decided to set up a South Asia Forum to discuss issues impeding movement of trade and investment.