A senior World Bank official, Joseph Stiglitz, has said that the South Asia region as a whole has successfully avoided the impact of the global financial crisis.
Mr Stiglitz, told the BBC during a three-day visit to Bangladesh, that growth in Bangladesh and India was impressive despite adverse global economic conditions.
He praised the reforms in the telecommunication sector in Sri Lanka, and the micro-credit programmes of non-governmental organisations in Bangladesh.
Mr Stiglitz also praised India's economic liberalisation programme before moving on to Delhi, for talks with government ministers. India's Industry minister, Sikhander Bakht, assured business leaders on Monday that his government was committed to a programme that would open up the vast insurance and real estate markets to private investors from India and overseas.
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