South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation - Wikipedia.pdf

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation This article needs additional citations for verification. Learn more

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of nations in South Asia. Its member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC comprises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 3.8% (US$2.9 trillion)[3] of the global economy, as of 2015. SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.[4] Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes development of economic and regional integration.[5] It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in

2006.[6] SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union.

Historical background 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

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

1947; the Baguio Conference in the

Bengali:

Philippines on May 1950; and the Colombo Powers Conference held in Sri Lanka in April

দি ণ এশীয় আ িলক

সহেযািগতা সং া

Dari:

‫اﺗﺤﺎدﯾﻪ ﻫﻤﮑﺎریﻫﺎی ﻣﻨﻄﻘﻪای ﺟﻨﻮب‬ ‫آﺳﯽ‬

1954.[7] Dzongkha:

༄

ོ ཨེ སིཨ་ རེ ་གི ཨ ོནལ་

ཅཨཔརཏིཨ ོན་ ཀ ོ་མི ་ཏི།

Hindi:

द ण ए शयाई े ीय सहयोग

संगठन

ަ ‫ޔ ެގ‬ ާ ި‫ނ އޭޝ‬ ު ‫ެދ ުކ‬ ‫ދ‬ ީ ‫ސ ަރ ަޙ ްއ‬

Maldivian:

ާ ‫ިއ‬ ް ‫ބ ުރ ުލ ުމ ެގ ަޖމ‬ ާ ‫ެއ ްއ‬ ‫ޔ‬

Nepali:

द ण ए शयाली े ीय सहयोग

सङ् गठन

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various Asian regional organisations

Pashto:

‫د ﺳﻮﯾﻠﻲ اﺳﯿﺎ ﻟﭙﺎره د ﺳﯿﻤﻪ اﯾﺰی‬ ‫ﻫﻤﮑﺎرۍ ﻮﻟﻨﻪ‬

v•d•e

Sinhalese:

ද ආ Logo සහෙය

In the ending years of the 1970s, the

Tamil:

seven inner South Asian nations that included Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri

යා ක කලා ය

තා සං ධානය

ெத காச ய நா

ப ரா த ய

Urdu:

களி

டைம

‫ﺟﻨﻮﺑﯽ اﯾﺸﯿﺎﺋﯽ ﻋﻼﻗﺎﺋﯽ ﺗﻌﺎون‬ ‫ﮐﯽ ﺗﻨﻈﯿﻢ‬

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,

   Memb

and understanding. President Ziaur

er

Rahman later addressed official letters

states  

to the leaders of the countries of the

 Obser

South Asia, presenting his vision for the future of the region and the compelling arguments for

region.[8]

During his visit

to India in December 1977, Rahman discussed the issue of regional cooperation with the Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai. In the inaugural speech to the Colombo Plan

ver states Headquarters Kathma Official languages En Demonym(s) South Asian Member 8 members states

Consultative Committee which met in Kathmandu also in 1977, King Birendra

 Afghanis

of Nepal gave a call for close regional cooperation among South Asian countries in sharing river

waters.[9]

After the USSR's intervention in Afghanistan, the efforts to establish the union was accelerated in 1979 and the resulting rapid deterioration of South Asian security situation.[9] Responding to Rahman and Birendra's convention,

 Banglade  Bhutan  India  Maldive      Nepa  Pakista  Sri Lan 9 observers  Austral

the officials of the foreign ministries of

 China

the seven countries met for the first

 EU

time in Colombo in April 1981.[9] The

 Iran

Bangladeshi proposal was promptly

 Japan  Mauriti

endorsed by Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan,

 Myanm

and the Maldives but India and

 South

Pakistan were sceptical initially.[9] The

Korea

Indian concern was the proposal's

 United

reference to the security matters in South Asia and feared that Rahman's proposal for a regional organisation

Leaders • Secretary-

States

might provide an opportunity for new smaller neighbours to renationalise all bilateral issues and to join with each

General

Amjad Hussain

B. Sial[1] Establishment 8

other to form an opposition against

Decem

India. Pakistan assumed that it might

1985

be an Indian strategy to organise the other South Asian countries against

Area • Total 5,099,611 km2

Pakistan and ensure a regional market

(1,968,971 sq 

for Indian products, thereby

(7th)

consolidating and further strengthening

• Water (%) 6.8 Population

India's economic dominance in the

• 2015

1,713,870

region.[9]

estimate (1st) • Density 336.1/km2

However, after a series of diplomatic

(870.5/sq m

consultations headed by Bangladesh

GDP (PPP) 2017 estim

between South Asian U.N. representatives at the UN headquarters

• Total US$11.64 trilli (3rd)

in New York, from September 1979 to 1980, it was agreed that Bangladesh would prepare the draft of a working paper for discussion among the foreign secretaries of South Asian countries.[9]

GDP (nominal) 2017 e • Total US$ 3.31 trillion[3] (5th)

The foreign secretaries of the inner

Currency 8 currencie

seven countries again delegated a Committee of the Whole in Colombo on

Afghani (

September 1981, which identified five

Taka

broad areas for regional cooperation.

(৳) (BDT)

New areas of co-operation were added in the following

years.[10]

In 1983, the international conference

Ngultrum Rupee (₹) (INR)

held in Dhaka by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign ministers of the inner seven countries adopted the

Rufiyaa (

Rupee

Declaration on South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and

( .) (NPR Rupee 

formally launched the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA) initially in

Time UTC+4:30Rupee  to +6

five agreed areas of cooperation

zone (Afghanistan

namely, Agriculture; Rural Development; Telecommunications; Meteorology; and Health and Population Activities.[11] Officially, the union was established in Dhaka with Kathmandu being union's secretariat-general.[12] The first SAARC

Time(UTC+4:30 Pakistan Standard Time (PST), Maldives Time(both UTC+5:00), Indian Standard Time (IST), Sri

summit was held in Dhaka on 7–8

Lanka Standard

December 1985 and hosted by the

Time (SLST)

President of Bangladesh Hussain

(bothUTC+5:30)

Ershad.[13]

The declaration signed by

King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuk, President of Pakistan Zia-ul-

Nepal Standard Time (NST) (UTC+5:45), Bangladesh

Haq, Prime Minister of India Rajiv

Standard Time

Gandhi, King of Nepal Birendra Shah,

(BST), Bhutan

President of Sri Lanka JR Jayewardene,

Time

and President of Maldives Maumoon

(bothUTC+6:00)

Gayoom.[13]

Calling

8 codes

Members and observers

code

 +880

Economic data is sourced from the

 +91

International Monetary Fund, current as

 +92

of April 2015, and is given in US

 +93

dollars.[14]

 +94

Members

 +960  +975    +977

.asia[a]

Internet TLD

Website www.saarc-sec.org

GDP Country

 Afghanistan

 Bangladesh  Bhutan

GDP

Population[15]

GDP

GDP

per

(2016)

(Nominal)

(PPP)

Capita

Rate

(PPP)

(2018)

$1,976

3.2%

$4,560 $8,158

34,656,032

162,951,560 797,765

$21.3 bn

$63.5 bn

$285.815 $751.949 bn

bn

$2.2 bn

$6.3 bn

Foreign

Growth Exports

Direct

(2018) Investment (2018)

$0.3 bn

Foreign Exchange Reserves(million)

N/A

$6,442

7.65% $37 bn

$2.65 bn

$32,000

6.4%

$63 mln

N/A

$0.7 bn

Defense

Literacy

Budget(% Rate(Given of GDP)

Age &

(2014)[16]

above)

N/A

28.1%(Age 15)

$3.2

57.7%(Age

bn(1.2%)

15)

N/A

52.8%(age 15)

Li Expec

6

7 6

 India

 Maldives

   Nepal

 Pakistan  Sri Lanka

$2,439.0

$9,446.8

bn

bn

427,756

$3.0 bn

28,982,771

$21.6 bn

1,324,171,354

$7,174

7.3%

$5.2 bn

$14,980

4.5%

$70.7 bn

$2,488

5.5%

193,203,476

$313 bn $1161.0bn $5,886

5.4%

20,798,492

$80.4 bn $233.7 bn $11,068

7%

$464.0

$45

74.4%(age

bn(1.9%)

15)

$31.0 bn

$422,532.5

N/A

$356

N/A

$1.0 bn

$10 mln

$5,439

N/A

$25.1

$0.709

bn

bn(2014)

bn $0.28 bn

$11.8 bn

$0.9 bn

$16,305

$8,314

99%(age 15) 66%(age 15)

$7.4

55%(age

bn(3.5%)

15)

$1.4

98.1%(age

bn(2.3%)

15)

The member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[20]

6

7

6

6

7

SAARC was founded by seven states in 1985. In 2005, Afghanistan began negotiating their accession to SAARC and formally applied for membership on the same year.[21][22] 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.[23] The SAARC member states imposed a stipulation for Afghanistan to hold a general election; the non-partisan elections were held in late 2005.[23] Despite initial reluctance

and internal debates, Afghanistan joined SAARC as its eighth member state in April 2007.[23][24]

Observers States with observer status include[25] Australia,[26] China, the European Union,[27] Iran, Japan,[27] Mauritius,[28] Myanmar, South Korea and the United States.[29] On 2 August 2006, the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to three applicants;[30] the US and South Korea (both made requests in

April 2006),[30] as well as the European Union (requested in July 2006).[31] On 4 March 2007, Iran requested observer status,[32] followed shortly by Mauritius.

Potential future members Myanmar has expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of SAARC.[33] Russia has applied for observer status membership of SAARC.[34][35][36] Turkey applied for observer status membership of SAARC in 2012.[34][35][36] South Africa has participated in meetings.[37]

Secretariat

Secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 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.[38]

Regional Centres The SAARC Secretariat is supported by following Regional Centres established in the 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. After 31 December 2015, there 6 regional centers were stopped by

unanimous decision. These are SMRC, SFC, SDC, SCZMC, SIC, SHRDC.[39] Regional Centre

Location

Country

Website

SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC)

Dhaka

Bangladesh Official website

SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC)

Dhaka

Bangladesh

SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC)

Thimphu

Bhutan

SAARC Development Fund (SDF)

Thimphu

Bhutan

SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC)

New Delhi

India

SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC)

Gandhinagar India

SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC)

Malé

Maldives

SAARC Information Centre (SIC)

Kathmandu

Nepal

SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC)

Kathmandu

Nepal

Official website

Official website

Official website

SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC) Islamabad

Pakistan

SAARC Energy Centre (SEC)

Islamabad

Pakistan

Official website

SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC)

Colombo

Sri Lanka

Official website

Apex and Recognised Bodies

SAARC has six Apex Bodies,[40] they areSAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law(SAARCLAW),[41] 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)

Amjad Hussain B. Sial is the current Secretary General of SAARC. SAARC also has about 17 recognised bodies.[40]

SAARC Disaster Management Centre South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Disaster Management Centre (SDMC-IU) has been set up at Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) Campus, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. Eight Member States, i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,

Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected to be served by the SDMC (IU). The SDMC (IU) is entrusted with the responsibility to serve Member States by providing policy advice, technical support on system development, capacity building services and training for holistic management of disaster risk in the SAARC region. The centre also facilitates exchange of information and expertise for effective and efficient management of disaster risk.

Political issues

Lasting peace and prosperity in South Asia has been elusive because of the various ongoing conflicts in the region. Political dialogue is often conducted on the margins of SAARC meetings which have refrained from interfering in the internal matters of its member states.[42] During the 12th and 13th SAARC summits, extreme emphasis was laid upon greater cooperation between the SAARC members to fight terrorism.[43][44] The 19th SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan was called off as India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan decided to boycott it.[45][46] It was for the first time that four

countries boycotted a SAARC summit, leading to its cancellation.[47][48]

South Asian Free Trade Area

Countries under the South Asian Free Trade Area

SAFTA was envisaged primarily as the first step towards the transition to a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) leading subsequently towards a Customs Union, Common Market and the Economic Union. In 1995, Sixteenth session of the Council of Ministers (New Delhi, 18–19 December 1995) agreed on the need to strive for the realisation of SAFTA and to this end, an Inter-Governmental Expert Group (IGEG) was set up in 1996 to identify the necessary steps for progressing to a free trade area. The Tenth SAARC Summit (Colombo, 29–31 July 1998) decided to set up a Committee of Experts (COE) to draft a comprehensive treaty framework for creating a free

trade area within the region, taking into consideration the asymmetries in development within the region and bearing in mind the need to fix realistic and achievable targets. The SAFTA Agreement was signed on 6 January 2004 during Twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2006, and the Trade Liberalisation Programme commenced from 1 July 2006. Under this agreement, SAARC members will bring their duties down to 20 percent by 2009. Following the Agreement coming into force the SAFTA Ministerial Council (SMC) has been established comprising the Commerce Ministers of the

Member States.[49] In 2012 the SAARC exports increased substantially to US$354.6 billion from US$206.7 billion in 2009. Imports too increased from US$330 billion to US$602 billion over the same period. But the intra-SAARC trade amounts to just a little over 1% of SAARC's GDP. In contrast to SAARC, in ASEAN (which is actually smaller than SAARC in terms of the size of the economy) the intra-bloc trade stands at 10% of its GDP. SAFTA was envisaged to gradually move towards the South Asian Economic Union, but the current intra-regional trade and investment relation are not encouraging and it may be difficult

to achieve this target. The SAARC intra-regional trade stands at just five percent on the share of intra-regional trade in overall trade in South Asia. Similarly, foreign direct investment is also dismal. The intra-regional FDI flow stands at around four percent of the total foreign investment.[50] The Asian Development Bank has estimated that interregional trade in SAARC region possessed the potential of shooting up agricultural exports by $14 billion per year from existing level of $8 billion to $22 billion. The study by Asian Development Bank states that against the potential average SAARC intra-regional trade of $22 billion per year, the actual

trade in South Asia has been only around $8 billion. The uncaptured potential for intra-regional trade is therefore $14 billion per year, i.e. 68%.[51][52]

SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme The SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme was launched in 1992. The leaders at the Fourth Summit (Islamabad, 29–31 December 1988), realizing the importance of people-to-people contact among SAARC countries, decided that certain categories of dignitaries should be entitled to a Special Travel document. The document would exempt them from visas

within the region. As directed by the Summit, the Council of Ministers regularly kept under review the list of entitled categories. Currently, the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include dignitaries, judges of higher courts, parliamentarians, senior officials, entrepreneurs, journalists, and athletes. The Visa Stickers are issued by the respective Member States to the entitled categories of that particular country. The validity of the Visa Sticker is generally for one year. The

implementation is reviewed regularly by the Immigration Authorities of SAARC Member States.[53]

Awards SAARC Award The Twelfth Summit approved the SAARC Award to support individuals and organisations within the region. The main aims of the SAARC Award are:

To encourage individuals and organisations based in South Asia to undertake programmes and activities that complement the efforts of SAARC To encourage individuals and organisations in South Asia contributing to bettering the conditions of women and children To honour outstanding contributions and achievements of individuals and organisations within the region in the fields of peace, development, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and regional cooperation

To honour any other contributions and achievement not covered above of individuals and organisations in the region. The SAARC Award consists of a gold medal, a letter of citation, and cash prize of US$25,000 (₹15 lakhs). Since the institution of the SAARC Award in 2004, it has been awarded only once and the Award was posthumously conferred upon the late President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh.[54]

SAARC Literary Award

Recipients of SAARC Literary Award 2013

The SAARC Literary Award is an annual award conferred by the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) since 2001[55][56] which is an apex SAARC body.[57] Shamshur Rahman, Mahasweta Devi, Jayanta Mahapatra, Abhi Subedi, Mark Tully, Sitakant Mahapatra, Uday Prakash, Suman Pokhrel

and Abhay K are some of the prominent recipients of this award.[58] Nepali poet, lyricist, and translator Suman Pokhrel is the only poet/writer to get this award twice.[59]

SAARC Youth Award The SAARC Youth Award is awarded to outstanding individuals from the SAARC region. The award is notable because of the recognition it gives to the Award winner in the SAARC region. The award is based on specific themes which

apply to each year. The award recognises and promotes the commitment and talent of the youth who give back to the world at large through various initiatives such as Inventions, Protection of the Environment and Disaster relief. The recipients who receive this award are ones who have dedicated their lives to their individual causes to improve situations in their own countries as well as paving a path for the SAARC region to follow. The Committee for the SAARC Youth Award selects the best candidate based on his/her merits and their decision is final.[60] Previous Winners:

1997: Outstanding Social Service in Community Welfare – Mohammed Sukur Salek (Bangladesh) 1998: New Inventions and Shanu — Najmul Hasnain Shah (Pakistan) 2001: Creative Photography: South Asian Diversity – Mushfiqul Alam (Bangladesh) 2002: Outstanding contribution to protect the Environment – Masil Khan (Pakistan) 2003: Invention in the Field of Traditional Medicine – Hassan Sher (Pakistan)

2004: Outstanding contribution to raising awareness of TB and/or HIV/AIDS – Ajij Prasad Poudyal (Nepal) 2006: Promotion of Tourism in South Asia – Syed Zafar Abbas Naqvi (Pakistan) 2008: Protecting the Environment in South Asia – Uswatta Liyanage Deepani Jayantha (Sri Lanka) 2009: Outstanding contribution to humanitarian works in the aftermath of Natural Disasters – Ravikant Singh (India) 2010: Outstanding contribution for the Protection of Environment and mitigation of Climate Change – Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne (Sri Lanka)

Anthem SAARC does not have an official anthem like some other regional organisations (e.g. ASEAN).[61] A poem by poetdiplomat Abhay Kumar spurred a search for a better SAARC anthem.[62] Nepal's foreign minister has expressed the need for an SAARC anthem to connect SAARC nations.[63] Nepal at the 18th summit in Kathmandu in November 2014 planned to introduce proposal for an SAARC Anthem in the agenda of summit when heads of all member states meet here.[61]

Secretaries-General of SAARC

#

Name

Country

Took office

Left office

1

Abul Ahsan

 Bangladesh 16 January 1985 15 October 1989

2

Kant Kishore Bhargava

 India

17 October 1989 31 December 1991

3

Ibrahim Hussein Zaki

 Maldives

1 January 1992

31 December 1993

4

Yadav Kant Silwal

   Nepal

1 January 1994

31 December 1995

5

Naeem U. Hasan

 Pakistan

1 January 1996

31 December 1998

6

Nihal Rodrigo

 Sri Lanka

1 January 1999

10 January 2002

7

Q. A. M. A. Rahim

 Bangladesh 11 January 2002 28 February 2005

8

Chenkyab Dorji

 Bhutan

1 March 2005

29 February 2008

9

Sheel Kant Sharma

 India

1 March 2008

28 February 2011

10 Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed

 Maldives

1 March 2011

11 March 2012

11 Ahmed Saleem

 Maldives

12 March 2012

28 February 2014

12 Arjun Bahadur Thapa

   Nepal

1 March 2014

28 February 2017

13 Amjad Hussain B. Sial

 Pakistan

1 March 2017

Incumbent

SAARC summits

No 1st

Date 7–8 December 1985

Country

Host

Host leader

Bangladesh Dhaka

Ataur Rahman Khan

2nd 16–17 November 1986

India

Bengaluru

Rajiv Gandhi

3rd

2–4 November 1987

Nepal

Kathmandu King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah

4th

29–31 December 1988

Pakistan

Islamabad Benazir Bhutto

5th

21–23 November 1990

Maldives

Malé

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

6th

21 December 1991

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Ranasinghe Premadasa

7th

10–11 April 1993

Bangladesh Dhaka

Khaleda Zia

8th

2–4 May 1995

India

New Delhi

P V Narasimha Rao

9th

12–14 May 1997

Maldives

Malé

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

10th 29–31 July 1998

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Chandrika Kumaratunga

11th 4–6 January 2002

Nepal

Kathmandu Sher Bahadur Deuba

12th 2–6 January 2004

Pakistan

Islamabad Zafarullah Khan Jamali

13th 12–13 November 2005

Bangladesh Dhaka

Khaleda Zia

14th 3–4 April 2007

India

New Delhi

Manmohan Singh

15th 1–3 August 2008

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Mahinda Rajapaksa

16th 28–29 April 2010

Bhutan

Thimphu

Jigme Thinley

17th 10–11 November 2011

Maldives

Addu

Mohammed Nasheed

18th 26–27 November 2014[64] Nepal

Kathmandu Sushil Koirala

19th 9–10 November 2016

Pakistan

Islamabad Cancelled

20th 2019

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Maithripala Sirisena

Current leaders of SAARC

Bhutan Afghanista Banglades

India

Prime

Prime

Maldives

n

h

Minister

Minister

President

President

Prime

Lotay

Narendra

Ibrahim

Ashraf

Minister

Tshering

Modi

Mohamed

Ghani

Sheikh Hasina

Solih

Nepal

Sri

Pakistan

Prime

Lanka

Prime

Minister

President

Minister

Khadga

Maithripal

Imran

Prasad Oli

a Sirisena

Khan

Current leaders Country

President / Head of State

Prime Minister

Afghanistan

Ashraf Ghani

Bangladesh

Abdul Hamid

Sheikh Hasina

Bhutan

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

Lotay Tshering

India

Ram Nath Kovind

Narendra Modi

Maldives

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

Nepal

Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Khadga Prasad Oli

Pakistan

Arif Alvi

Imran Khan

Sri Lanka

Maithripala Sirisena

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Abdullah Abdullah (CEO)

See also ASEAN and India's Look-East connectivity projects Asia Cooperation Dialogue

SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal Initiative BIMSTEC Indian-Ocean Rim Association List of SAARC summits Mekong–Ganga Cooperation SAARC satellite South Asian University South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Director of SAARC

Notes a. .asia is representative of all of Asia; member states also have their own TLDs.

References 1. "Curriculum Vitae Of H. E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial Secretary General Of SAARC" . SAARC Secretariat. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017. 2. "World Urbanization Prospects — Population Division — United Nations" . un.org. Archived from the original on 18

February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015. 3. "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects" . imf.org. 4. Ahmad, Naveed (6 August 2016). "Rest in peace SAARC: The tug of war between India and Pakistan" . tribune.com.pk. The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016. 5. "Charter of SAARC" . SAARC Secretariat. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 6. Center, Asia Regional Integration. "South Asian Free Trade Area Free Trade Agreement" . aric.adb.org. Retrieved 2018-03-02.

7. "12th SAARC Summit Islamabad: History and Evolution of SAARC" . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. 8. "History and mission of SAARC" . Daily News. Colombo. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 9. Muhammad, Jamshed Iqbal. "SAARC: Origin, Growth, Potential and Achievements" (PDF). National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research in Islamabad. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.

10. "A Brief on SAARC." South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine No date. See for a complete historical account of SAARC e.g. Michael, Arndt (2013). India's Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism (Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 57–112. 11. "History and Evolution of SAARC" . Jang Media Research Unit. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013. 12. "About SAARC" . SAARC Secretariat. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.

13. "1st Summit Declaration" (PDF). SAARC Secretariat. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 14. "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects" . imf.org. 15. "World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision" . ESA.UN.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 10 September 2017. 16. "The World Factbook" . cia.gov. 17. "Net enrolment rate, primary, both sexes (%) - Data" . worldbank.org.

18. "Gross enrolment ratio, secondary, both sexes (%) - Data" . worldbank.org. 19. "Regional Overview of Food Insecurity: Asia and the Pacific" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015. 20. "South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation" . SAARC Secretariat. Retrieved 27 June 2014. 21. "Afghanistan keen to join SAARC" . rediff web services. 28 August 2005. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.

22. "Afghanistan inducted as 8th member: 14th Saarc summit begins" . Dawn. 4 April 2004. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013. 23. Sáez, Lawrence (2012). The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): An emerging collaboration architecture . Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-1136-67108-1. 24. "South Asia: Afghanistan Joins World's Largest Regional Grouping." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 3 April 2007. 25. "Cooperation with Observers" . SAARC Secretariat. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

26. "Sri Lanka, 7 - 30 - 2008: Australia and Myanmar to admit as SAARC observers - Sri Lanka official" . ColomboPage. 27. "thehimalayantimes.com" . Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2006. Archived 9 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine 28. "The Island-News" . island.lk. 29. "Cooperation with Observers" . SAARC Secretariat. Retrieved 16 November 2012. 30. "SAARC to grant observer status to US, S Korea, EU Archived 10 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine

Archived 10 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine." Hindustan Times. 2 August 2006. 31. Waliur Rahman. "US and S Korea to observe SAARC." BBC News Archived 12 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine, 11 April 2008. 32. "Iran requests for observer status in SAARC" . China Daily. 4 March 2007. 33. "SAARC and Myanmar: Observer Research Foundation" . Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2012. Archived 12 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine

34. "Russia, Turkey seek observer status in SAARC" . The Economic Times. IANS. 16 February 2014. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. 35. SAARC The Changing Dimensions: UNU-CRIS Working Papers United Nations University Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Comparative Regional Integration Studies 36. Russia keen to join SAARC as observer Archived 24 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Oneindia News 37. "SAARC nations call for transparency in social sector" . thaindian.com.

38. "Features | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers" . archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 2017-06-05. 39. "Saarc Secretariat" . Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017. 40. "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — Apex and Recognised Bodies" . saarc-sec.org. 41. "SAARCLAW — South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law" . saarclaw.org. 42. See for this aspect Michael, Arndt (2013). Sovereignty vs. Security: SAARC and its Role in the Regional Security

Architecture in South Asia. Harvard Asia Quarterly Summer 2013, Vol. VX, No.2: 37-45 43. Jhawar, Shiv (2004). Building a Noble World. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-9749197-0-6. 44. "The Nobel Peace Prize for 2012" . Retrieved 12 October 2012. 45. "SAARC conference in Pakistan postponed" . Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017. 46. "SAARC summit to be called off as Dhaka, Kabul and Thimphu too slam Islamabad" . 29 September 2016. Archived

from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017. 47. "Saarc summit collapses after India and three other members pull out" . 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017. 48. "Saarc summit in Pakistan postponed after member states pull out" . 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017. 49. "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — Area of Cooperation" . saarc-sec.org.

50. "SAFTA meet likely next month" . 25 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017. 51. "ADB urges Safta to exploit rich trade potential of member countries" . Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017. 52. Ranjan, Prabhash (8 September 2016). "Coming closer together for trade" . The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017. 53. "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme" . saarc-sec.org.

54. "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — SAARC Award" . saarc-sec.org. 55. "SAARC Literary Awards" . Foundation Of SAARC Writers And Literature. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013. 56. "Hindustan Times - Archive News" . Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013. Five Writers honoured at SAARC Litearure Festival, Hindustan Times 11 March 2013 57. "Apex and Recognised Bodies" . SAARC. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013.

58. Mahasweta Devi to get SAARC Literary Award Archived 4 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Oneindia.in 30 March 2007 59. Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Saturday, 14 February 2015 60. "404 Error" . Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017. 61. Will SAARC have an anthem-like ASEAN? Archived 4 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine Hindustan Times, 3 November 2014 62. Indian diplomat's poem spurs search for SAARC anthem Archived 12 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine IANS 9

January 2014 63. Nepal foreign minister expresses need for an anthem to connect SAARC nations Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Business Standard, 6 June 2014 64. "Press Releases, 18th SAARC Summit Declaration, 27 November 2014" . SAARC. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Official website SAARC Youth

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=South_Asian_Association_for_Regional_Cooperation&oldid=8876520 65"

Last edited 4 days ago by an anonymous user Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.