Being universal and at the same time necessitating country-level plans and policies, the post-2015 framework is expected to create opportunities and face challenges related to implementation. This article explores the potential for regional integration in South Asia to implement the post-2015 framework. The article presents an overview of progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which highlight areas of weaknesses for South Asian countries and a comparison of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Development Goals to identify the gaps that South Asia may experience. This is followed up with a discussion on regional means of implementation that may improve prospects of successful implementation of the post-2015 framework. The article finds that incentivizing regional integration could help generate sustainable development outcomes if contextual factors and evidence-based policies that address political, economic and historical barriers are meaningfully considered.
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