South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organisation ofSouth Asian nations, which was established on 8 December 1985 when the government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka formally adopted its charter providing for the promotion of economic and social progress, cultural development within the South Asia region and also for friendship and co-operation with other developing countries. It is dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Afghanistan joined the organisation in 2007. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal.

History
The first concrete proposal for establishing a framework for regional co-operation in South Asia was made by the late president of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman, on 2 May 1980. Prior to this, the idea of regional co-operation in South Asia was discussed in at least three conferences: the Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi in April 1947, the Baguio Conference in the Philippines in May 1950, and the Colombo Powers Conference in April 1954. In the late 1970s, SAARC nations agreed upon the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South Asian countries. The idea of regional co-operation in South Asia was again mooted in May 1980. The foreign ministers 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 1985, identified five broad areas for regional co-operation. New areas of co-operation were added in the following years.[1] It was having 7 members Afghanistan joined in as the 8th member in year 2007.

Objectives Of SAARC
The objectives and the aims of the Association as defined in the Charter are: [3] to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; 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 realise their full potential;

to promote and strengthen selective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia; to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems; to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields; to strengthen co-operation with other developing countries; to strengthen co-operation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest; and to co-operate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes. to maintain peace in the region

Principles
The principles are as follows Respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, political equality and independence of all members states Non-interference in the internal matters is one of its objectives Cooperation for mutual benefit All decisions to be taken unanimously and need a quorum of all eight members All bilateral issues to be kept aside and only multilateral(involving many countries) issues to be discussed without being prejudiced by bilateral issues Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping on April 2007, [4] With the addition of Afghanistan, the total number of member states were raised to eight (8). 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. [5][6] 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. [6] On 4 March 2008, Iran requested observer status.
[7]

Followed shortly by the entrance of Mauritius. Myanmar has expressed interest in upgrading it's

status from an observer to a full member of SAARC, [8] while Russia is interested in becoming an observer.

Regional Centres[edit source | editbeta]

The SAARC Secretariat is supported by following Regional Centres established in Member States to promote regional co-operation. These Centres are managed by Governing Boards comprising representatives from all the Member States, SAARC Secretary-General and the Ministry of Foreign/External Affairs of the Host Government. The Director of the Centre acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee. SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka SAARC Tuberculosis Centre (STC), Kathmandu SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), Maldives SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Nepal SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Pakistan SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Bhutan SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), Bhutan SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka

Members of SAARC
Current members[edit source | editbeta]
Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

Observers[edit source | editbeta]

Australia[20] China

European Union[21] Japan[21] Iran Mauritius[22] Myanmar South Korea United States[23]

Potential future members[edit source | editbeta]

China has expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of SAARC. Supported by Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka. Burma has expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of SAARC.[8] Russia has expressed interest in becoming an observer of SAARC. Supported By India.[9][10]

Others[edit source | editbeta]

South Africa has participated in meetings.