One can reasonably conclude, from this record, that the further development of regional supply chains in South Asia, in general, and the integration of South Asian LDCs into these supply chains, in particular, would likely face significant hurdles - and that is indeed the case. Though its regional population is large, only eight countries make up the region and half of these are LDCs. Moreover, the level of intra-regional trade is the lowest of any of the major developing regions.