India to give $100 mn loan to each neighbouring nations

India today said it would provide $100 million as loan for each of its neighbouring countries to help them develop infrastructure like roads and power.

After a meeting of the South Asia Free Trade Area Ministerial Council at Male (Maldives), Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said India has evolved a new ‘Buyer Credit Cover’ for the SAARC region, that is, a development loan for them.

“We would be happy to extend such development loan through our Exim bank, interest rates close to LIBOR (London Inter Bank Offer Rate),” he said.

Sharma also said that as energy needs of South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region is multiplying, there is a need to build greater energy security through trans-national electricity grids.

“The SAARC region needs to concentrate on all possibilities of cross-border electricity trade. This would help in better energy load management as well as energy security in South Asia,” he said.

As regard the Free trade agreement, Sharma urged all the member countries to “bring down all the protectionist trade barriers to achieve regional economies of scale at a greater pace.” He emphasised that the countries in South Asia need to rapidly break down barriers in key sectors like textiles, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, electronic goods, automobiles and agriculture. He asked SAARC negotiators to complete talks for opening up trade in services through a separate agreement.

“The focus should also be to bring down the tariff levels for those items which still remain within the sensitive list,” he said.

He added that foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade within the SAARC region has been much below the potential and it should be enhanced further.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

Maldives run with the wind

The tiny Indian Ocean nation of Maldives may be more famous as an idyllic getaway than a footballing powerhouse. However, in recent times football has been taking an increasing hold in the archipelago. Maldives soared nine places to 149 in May's FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking courtesy of some inspiring performances in April's qualifying for the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.

Although not the highest position reached in the global pecking order, [they hit 126 in July 2006] it is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement for a tiny nation where registered players number just a few thousand.

The country's current placing also indicative of steady improvement over the last decade, marking an improvement of 34 places above their lowest ebb in August 1997 when they languished at 183. Making for even more impressive reading is the fact that Maldives have leapfrogged the likes of Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan to rank 25 amongst the AFC's 46 nations.

Qualifying near-miss
The Maldives stunned many onlookers last year when they defeated India by a solitary goal in the final to lift the 2008 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship trophy. Boosted by the unprecedented success, the islanders looked to transform their regional triumph onto the continental stage when they played hosts to the recent AFC Challenge Cup qualifying campaign.

Their ambitions, however, were dealt a serious blow when they suffered an opening 3-1 defeat to Turkmenistan. Under Hungarian mentor Istvan Urbanyi, Maldives bounced back to overcome Philippines 3-2 in the second game before firing five unanswered goals against Bhutan to round off their campaign in style.

Despite the two late victories, their opening loss to Turkmenistan proved fatal with the Central Asians progressing to the continental finals at the expense of the host nation. Of greater disappointment though was conceding the runners-up berth to Bangladesh, who narrowly advanced to the by virtue of superior goal difference.

Fazeel the talisman
While the Maldives had again failed to secure a maiden appearance on the continental stage their fans were there were a number of positives. Aside from the hosts side's excellent display, striker Ibrahim Fazeel displayed an eye for goal by netting four times to top the team's scoring chart.

The 28-year-old opened his account against Turkmenistan, pulling one back for the hosts after they were two goals down, only to see the strongly-favoured visitors coasting to an opening win. The Victory SC marksman was on target again in their defeat of the Philippines before completing a brace in their demolition of Bhutan. The other stand-out was captain Ali Ashfaq, who grabbed three goals in as many games as Fazeel's attacking partner.

In the centre of the park, midfielder Mukhthar Naseer, who scored the title-winning goal against India in last year's SAFF Championship final, further enhanced his reputation as a scorer of crucial goals by grabbing the winner against the Philippines.

With a steady increase in both talent and performance, the Maldives are proving more than just an irritation, a point borne out in their qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ when they held Korea Republic to a surprise goalless draw. Despite their near-miss in their AFC Challenge Cup bid, it seems that they are set to continue to progress and break new ground in the coming months and years.

Source: fifa.com

SAFF football championship put off to May 2008

New Delhi, Oct 20 - The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, scheduled to be held in December this year, has been postponed to May 2008 following a decision taken by the SAFF executive committee which met in Colombo last week.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) had requested for the postponement as the 2010 World Cup qualifiers as well as the professional and national football leagues in India would clash with the SAFF football event.

The eight-team event for the South Asian countries was scheduled to be hosted jointly by Maldives and Sri Lanka. The two countries will continue to be the hosts. The draw for the event will now be held in Maldives on Feb 26, 2008.

The executive committee has also cleared one under-16 tournament for SAFF member countries in India and one under-16 girls event in Sri Lanka.

The meeting was chaired by SAFF president Ganesh Thapa, with representatives from Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka present.


Source: Earth Time

SAFF C’ships in Colombo, Maldives

The South Asian Football Federation Chiefs who met in New Delhi decided to hold the South Asian Football Federation Championships from December 19 to 22 in Colombo and Maldives.

The championship will be competed by Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan and Afghanistan. The opening ceremony is scheduled to be held in Maldives while the closing ceremony will go to Sri Lanka.

All group matches where Sri Lanka is involved are to be conducted in Sri Lanka while the games involving Maldives are to be staged at the National stadium according to reliable sources.

Meanwhile the President of the Maldives Football Association is making a request to change the opening and the closing ceremony for them to have the final in Male.

As there is a request for this change, the South Asian Football Officials are scheduled to meet again to finalise the arrangements.

Source: Daily News SriLanka

Pakistan will take part in SAFF Championship

Pakistan will take part in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, a spokesman for the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) told Daily Times here Sunday. “After a meeting of the South Asian Football Federation in New Delhi, the member nations have agreed to hold the tournament in Male and Colombo from December 10 to 22,” the spokesman added.

He said it was agreed that the opening ceremony would be held in Male while the closing ceremony along with the tournament final in Colombo. “ The group matches involving Maldives will be played at National Stadium Male and the group matches involving Sri Lanka will be played at Sugathadha Stadium Colombo.” It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan won a bronze medal in the 1997 edition of the tournament.

This year’s showpiece event comprises four-times champions India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and underdogs Bhutan and Afghanistan. A total of six tournaments have been played in the past. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the only three nations that have won the tournament. The SAFF Championship is held biannually to promote football in South Asian region. It was launched at Lahore’s Railway Stadium in 1993 as the SAARC Gold Cup. Since 1997 onwards it is known as the SAFF Championship.

Source: Daily Times of Pakistan