Five leading think tanks from South Asia have been organizing the South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) on an annual basis since its launch in 2008. SAES has emerged as a reputed platform bringing together the research community, policymakers, lawmakers, the private sector and the broader civil society to deliberate on issues of interest to the South Asia region, identify new avenues of cooperation and generate creative and practical ideas for forging a collective way forward. A wide range of development partners have supported this endeavour.

The think tanks spearheading this initiative are Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh; Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India; South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal; Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan; and Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Sri Lanka.