Trade officials from South Asia are gathering here on Monday to discuss non-tariff barriers (NTBs) under the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) framework.

According to website nepalnews.com, the two-day meeting of SAFTA sub-group on NTBs will push forward negotiations on the issues that still keep trade from flowing unhindered within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.

The total intra-regional trade amongst SAARC countries is less than 7 billion U.S. dollars as against the combined international trade of 350 billion dollars carried out by the region, according to the report.

Under the SAFTA, the eight members -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and Afghanistan -- will have to liberalize and reduce their tariffs to ensure free trade within the SAARC region.

Countries of the region have formed a sub-group to identify NBTs in each country to ensure level-playing field for trade.