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HISTORY:
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is
an economic and geopolitical organization of eight countries that are primarily located in South
Asia. The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The idea of regional, political and economic cooperation in South Asia was first raised in 1980 and
the first summit was held in Dhaka on 8 December 1985, when the organization was established by
the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka Since then
the organization has expanded by accepting one new full member, Afghanistan, and several observer
members.
The SAARC policies aim to promote welfare economics, collective self-reliance among the countries
of South Asia, and to accelerate socio-cultural development in the region. The SAARC has
developed external relations by establishing permanent diplomatic relations with the EU, the UN (as
an observer), and other multilateral entities. The official meetings of the leaders of each nation are
held annually whilst the foreign ministers meet twice annually. The 18th SAARC Summit is
scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in November 2014.
The idea of co-operation in South Asia was discussed in at least three conferences: the Asian
Relations Conference held in New Delhi on April 1947; the Baguio Conference in the Philippines on
May 1950; and the Colombo Powers Conference held in Sri Lanka on April 1954.The first concrete proposal for establishing a regional cooperation in South Asia was made by the late president
of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman, on May 2, 1980.
In the ending years of the 1970s, the seven inner South Asian nations that
included Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka agreed upon the
creation of a trade bloc and to provide a platform for the people of South Asia to work together in a
spirit of friendship, trust and understanding. President Ziaur Rahman later addressed official letters
to the leaders of the countries of the South Asia, presenting his vision for the future of the region and
the compelling arguments for region. During his visit to India in December 1977, President Ziaur
Rahman discussed the issue of regional cooperation with the Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai.
In the inaugural speech to the Colombo Plan Consultative Committee which met in Kathmandu also
in 1977, King Birendra of Nepal gave a call for close regional cooperation among South Asian
countries in sharing river waters. After the USSR's intervention in Afghanistan, the efforts to
established the union was accelerated in 1979 and the resulting rapid deterioration of South Asian
security situation. Responding to the President Zia Rehman and King Birendra's convention, the
officials of the foreign ministries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April
1981. The Bangladesh's proposal was promptly endorsed by Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and
the Maldives but India and Pakistan were sceptical initially. The Indian concern was the proposal‟s
reference to the security matters in South Asia and feared that President Zia Rehman's proposal for a
regional organization might provide an opportunity for new smaller neighbors to renationalized all
bilateral issues and to join with each other to gang up against India. Pakistan assumed that it might
be an Indian strategy to organize the other South Asian countries against Pakistan and ensure a
regional market for Indian products, thereby consolidating and further strengthening India‟s
economic dominance in the region.
However, after a series of quiet diplomatic consultations between South Asian foreign ministers at
the UN headquarters in New York from August to September 1980, it was agreed that Bangladesh
would prepare the draft of a working paper for discussion among the foreign secretaries of South
Asian countries. The foreign secretaries of the inner seven countries again delegated a Committee of
the Whole in Colombo on September 1981, which identified five broad areas for regional
cooperation. New areas of co-operation were added in the following years.
In 1983, the international conference held by Indian Minister of External Affairs PVN Rao in New
Delhi, the foreign ministers of the inner seven countries adopted the Declaration on South Asian
Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and formally launched the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA) initially in five agreed areas of cooperation namely, Agriculture; Rural Development;
Telecommunications; Meteorology; and Health and Population Activities.
Officially, the union was established in Dhaka with Kathmandu being union's secretariatgeneral.
The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka on 7–8 December 1985 and hosted by
the President of Bangladesh Hussain Ershad. The declaration signed by King of Bhutan Jigme
Singye, President of Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq, Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, King of
Nepal Birendra Shah, President of Sri Lanka JR Jayewardene, and President of Maldives Maumoon
Gayoom. The group was given an impetus in 2014 with the inauguration of Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and the consequent foreign policy of Narendra Modi.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
a. To study in deep about the SAARC.
b. To know about its achievements and its future prospects.
c. To know how it benefited to the member nations in the area of economic,
political and social growth.
OBJECTIVES OF SAARC:
The objectives of the ASSOCIATION shall be:
a) To promote the welfare of the peoples of SOUTH ASIA and to improve their quality of life;
b) 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 potentials;
c) To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of SOUTH ASIA;
d) To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems;
e) To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural,
technical and scientific fields;
f) To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
g) To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common
interests; and
h) To cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.
4. MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS:
Members :
SAARC was founded by seven states in 1985.
They are – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
In 2005, Afghanistan began negotiating their accession to SAARC and formally applied for
membership on the same year. The issue of Afghanistan joining SAARC generated a great deal of
debate in each member state, including concerns about the definition of South Asian identity because
Afghanistan is a Central Asian country.
The SAARC member states imposed a stipulation for Afghanistan to hold a general election; the
non-partisan elections were held in late 2005. Despite initial reluctance and internal debates,
Afghanistan joined SAARC as its eighth member state in April 2007.
Observers :
States with observers status include Australia, China, the European Union, Iran, Japan,
Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States.
On 2 August 2006, the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant
observer status to three applicants; the US and South Korea (both made requests in April 2006), as
well as the European Union (requested in July 2006). On 4 March 2008, Iran requested observer
status, followed shortly by Mauritius.
Potential Future Members:
Myanmar has expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of
SAARC. Russia has applied for observer status membership of SAARC. Turkey applied for
observer status membership of SAARC in 2012. South Africa has participated in meetings.
SECRETARIAT :
The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu, on 16 January 1987 and was inaugurated by
Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal.
Regional Centres
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, Bangladesh
SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka, Bangladesh
SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu, Nepal
SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi, India
SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad, Pakistan
SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), Maldives
SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Nepal
SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Pakistan
SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India
SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), Bhutan
SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka
Secretariat
SAARC Development Fund, Bhutan.
5. SAARC AREAS OF COOPERATION:
Agriculture & Rural
Biotechnology
Culture
Economic & Trade
Education
Energy
Environment
Finance
Funding Mechanism
Information, Communication & Media
People-to-people Contacts
Poverty Alleviation
Science & Technology
Security Aspects
SAARC 2014
M.COM.I, MANAGEMENT Page 7
Social Development
SAARC APEX AND RECOGNISED BODIES:
SAARC has six Apex Bodies and 17 recognised bodies. Hemant Batra is the current incumbent
Secretary General of SAARCLAW.
SAARC Apex Bodies –
SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI)
SAARCLAW
South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA)
South Asia Foundation (SAF)
South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC)
Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL)
SAARC Recognized Bodies –
SAARC Federation of University Women (SAARCFUW)
Association of Management and Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA)
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation of Architects (SAARCH)
Federation of State Insurance Organizations of SAARC Countries (FSIO)
SAARC Diploma Engineers Forum (SDEF)
Radiological Society of SAARC Countries (RSSC)
SAARC Teachers Federation (STF)
SAARC Surgical Care Society (SSCS)
South Asian Regional Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists
(SARAD)
South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA)
SAARC Women‟s Association in Sri Lanka (SWA)
Hindukush Himalayan Grassroots Women‟s Natural Resources Management
(HIMAWANTI)
Federation of Association of Paediatric Surgeons of SAARC Countries (FAPSS)
South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE)
SAARC Federation of Oncologists (SFO)
South Asia Association of National Scout Organization (SAANSO)
South Asian Network of Economic Research Institute (SANEI)
7. TECHNICAL COMMITTEES:
Technical Committees comprising representatives of Member States are responsible for the
implementation, coordination and monitoring of the programmes in their respective areas of
cooperation.
In addition to determining the potential and the scope of regional cooperation in agreed areas,
Technical Committees are involved in formulation of programmes and preparation of projects. They
also coordinate the implementation of sectoral programmes and assess the implementation regularly.
The following Technical Committees work on their respective areas to provide support to SAARC
activities:
Technical Committee on Women, Youth and Children
Technical Committee on Science and Technology
Technical Committee on Transport
Technical Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Technical Committee on Health and Population Activities
Technical Committee on Environment
8. DESIGNATED SAARC DECADES:
1991-2000 SAARC Decade of the Girl Child
2001-2010 SAARC Decade of the Rights of the Child
2006-2015 SAARC Decade of Poverty Alleviation
2010-2020 SAARC Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity
9. DESIGNATED SAARC YEARS:
1989 SAARC Year of Combating Drug Abuse and Drug Trafficking
1990 SAARC Year of Girl Child
1991 SAARC Year of Shelter
1992 SAARC Year of Environment
1993 SAARC Year of Disabled Persons
1994 SAARC Year of the Youth
1995 SAARC Year of Poverty Eradication
1996 SAARC Year of Literacy
1997 SAARC Year of Participatory Governance
1999 SAARC Year of Biodiversity
2002-2003 SAARC Year of Contribution of Youth to Environment
2004 SAARC Awareness Year for TB and HIV/AIDS
2006 South Asia Tourism Year
2007 Green South Asia Year
10. SAARC AWARDs:
The Twelfth top (Islamabad, January 2004) approved the deeply rooted way of acting of the SAARC
Award to great respect and support still waiting individuals and organisations within the part round.
The main ends of the SAARC Award are:
To support individuals and organisations based in South Asia to undertake programmes and
activities goings well together the efforts of SAARC.
To support individuals and organisations in South Asia sending in (writing) to the getting
better of the conditions of women and children
To great respect still waiting contributions and things done of individuals and organisations
within the field, range in the fields of peace, development, moneyless condition untroubling,
general condition system of care for trade and part wise working together making the
SAARC Award the most having respect Award in the field, range; and
To great respect any other still waiting contributions and things done, not covered over, of
individuals and organisations in the part round.
The SAARC Award comprises a gold medal, a letter of citation and cash prize of US $ 25,000.
Since institution of SAARC Award in 2004, it has been awarded only once and the Award was
posthumously conferred upon Late President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh.