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South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Picture
logo

Quick Facts

Headquarters
Official languages
Demonym
Type 
Membership
Secretary General
Establishment
Area Total
Population
Density
GDP (PPP) 2009 estimate
Per capita  
Website
Kathmandu, Nepal
English
South Asian
Government Organization
8 members and 9 observers
Arjun Bahadur Thapa
December 8, 1985
5,130,746 km2 (1,980,992 sq mi )
1,600,000,000 (2009 estimate)
304.9/km2 (789.7/sq mi)
US$ 4,382,700 million
US$ 2,779
http://www.saarc-sec.org

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organization of South Asian nations, founded in 1985 and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasizing collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2007. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. Headquarters are in Kathmandu, Nepal.

History

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7th President of Bangladesh,Ziaur Rahman
In the late 1970s, Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman proposed the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South Asian countries. The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was again mooted in May 1980. The foreign secretaries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981. The Committee of the Whole, which met in Colombo in August 1981, identified five broad areas for regional cooperation. New areas of cooperation were added in the following years.
The Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation was adopted by the Foreign Ministers in 1983 in New Delhi. During the meeting, the Ministers also launched the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA) in nine agreed areas, namely, Agriculture; Rural Development; Telecommunications; Meteorology; Health and Population Activities; Transport; Postal Services; Science and Technology; and Sports, Arts and Culture. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established when its Charter was formally adopted on 8 December 1985 by the Heads of State or Government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping at the behest of India on 13 November 2005,and became a member on 3 April 2007. With the addition of Afghanistan, the total number of member states were raised to eight. In April 2006, the United States of America and South Korea made formal requests to be granted observer status. The European Union has also indicated interest in being given observer status, and made a formal request for the same to the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in July 2006.
On 2 August 2006 the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to the US, South Korea and the European Union. On 4 March 2007, Iran requested observer status.Followed shortly by the entrance of Mauritius.

The objectives of the Association as defined in the Charter are:
  1. To promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life.
  2. To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and To realize their full potential.
  3. To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia.
  4. To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems.
  5. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields.
  6. To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries.
  7. To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest.
  8. To cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.

Secretariat

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The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal.
It is headed by a Secretary General appointed by the Council of Ministers from Member Countries in alphabetical order for a three-year term. He is assisted by the Professional and the General Services Staff, and also an appropriate number of functional units called Divisions assigned to Directors on deputation from Member States.
The Secretariat coordinates and monitors implementation of activities, prepares for and services meetings, and serves as a channel of communication between the Association and its Member States as well as other regional organizations.

SAARC member states and observers

Picture

Members

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Islāmī Jumhūrī-ye Pākistān,Islamic Republic of Pakistan
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Sanghiya Loktāntrik Ganatantra Nepāl,Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Picture
Gônoprojatontri Banglādeś,People's Republic of Bangladesh
Picture
Divehi Rājjey ge Jumhuriyyā,Republic of Maldives
Picture
Bhārat Gaṇarājya,Republic of India
Picture
Kingdom of Bhutan
Picture
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,Sri Lanka
Picture
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Observers

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Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān, Islamic Republic of Iran
Picture
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó,People's Republic of China
Picture
Commonwealth of Australia,Australia
Picture
European Union
Picture
République de Maurice, Republic of Mauritius
Picture
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, Japan
Picture
Pyi-daung-zu Myan-mar Naing-ngan-taw, Burma
Picture
Daehan-minguk,Republic of Korea
Picture
United States of America,United States

Secretaries General

Number

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Name

Abul Ahsan
Kant Kishore Bhargava
Ibrahim Hussain Zaki
Yadav Kant Silwal
Naeem U. Hasan
Nihal Rodrigo
Q.A.M.A. Rahim
Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji
Sheel Kant Sharma
Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed
Ahmed Saleem
Arjun Bahadur Thapa

Country

Bangladesh
India
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Maldives
Nepal

Period

January 16, 1987 to 15 October 1989
October 17, 1989 to December 31, 1991
January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1993
January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1995
January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998
January 1, 1999 to January 10, 2002
January 11, 2002 to February 28, 2005
March 1, 2005 to February 29, 2008
March 1, 2008 to February 28, 2011
1 March 2011 to 11 March 2012
12 March 2012 to 28 February 2014
1 March 2014 to (present)

SAARC summits

No. Of Summit

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

18

City

Dhaka
Bangalore
Kathmandu
Islamabad
Malé
Colombo
Dhaka
New Delhi
Malé
Colombo
Kathmandu
Islamabad
Dhaka
New Delhi
Colombo
Thimphu
Addu
Kathmandu

Country

Bangladesh
India
Nepal
Pakistan
Maldives
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
India
Maldives
Sri Lanka
Nepal
Pakistan

Bangladesh
India

Sri Lanka
Bhutan
Maldives
Nepal

Timing

December 7-8,1985
November 16-17,1986
November 2-4,1987
December 29-31,1988
November 21-23,1990
December 21,1991
April 10–11,1993               
May 2-4,1995
May 12-14,1997
July 29-31,1998
January 4-6,2002
January 2-6,2004
November 12-13,2005
April 3-4,2007
August 1-3,2008
April 28-2
9, 2010
10-11 November 2011
26–27 November 2014

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