Contest Winners of the South Asia Economic Integration Summit

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism hosted a four-day journalism summit on South Asia Economic Integration from February 24 to 27 at the JW Marriott Marquis in Dubai. More than 60 journalists from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal attended the summit, which aimed to discuss economic and business integration in the South Asia region.

At the conclusion of the summit, a contest was announced for attendees to honour their coverage inspired by the topics discussed. The winners of the contest received monetary awards: $1000 for the first place, $750 for the second place, $500 for the third place, and $500 for the best piece to cover the summit.

Robert Antony from Virakesari News Paper in Sri Lanka took the first place with his article titled "Economic Integration Is Key to Alleviating Poverty, Unemployment and Tensions in The SAARC Region". In his article, Antony argued passionately for the benefits of economic integration in the South Asia region and how it could help alleviate poverty, unemployment, and tensions in the region.

The second place was awarded to Syeda Masooma from Pakistan Today for her article titled "People, not politicians, are the key to Indo-Pak economic integration". Masooma's article highlighted the importance of people-to-people contact in fostering economic integration between India and Pakistan, and how this could help alleviate tensions between the two nations.

The third place was awarded to Zulfiqar Ali Khan from Pamir Times for his article titled "Gilgit-Baltistan at the Crossroad of CPEC". Khan's article focused on the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, which is at the centre of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and how its economic integration with the rest of South Asia could benefit the region and the wider South Asia region.

One of the most notable awards of the summit was the recognition of Sujit John from The Times of India for top summit coverage with his article titled "Pakistanis and other South Asians are like you and I. And we can do much together". John's article emphasised the importance of fostering greater understanding and cooperation between the people of South Asia, and how this could help promote economic integration in the region.

The journalism competition "Benefits of South Asia Economic Integration: A Journalism Summit" held by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism in February 2023 in Dubai was a resounding success, with many insightful and thought-provoking articles submitted by the attending journalists. The summit provided a valuable platform for journalists from South Asia to discuss and debate the issues surrounding economic integration in the region, and to share their perspectives and ideas with their colleagues from other countries.