South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) List
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 Logo
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 Members States Observers States | |
| Headquarters | Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Official languages | English |
| Demonym(s) | South Asian |
| Membership | |
| Government | Organization |
• Chairman | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed | |
| Establishment | December 8, 1985 |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,130,746 km2 (1,980,992 sq mi) (7th1) |
| Population | |
• 2009 estimate | 1,600,000,000 (1st1) |
• Density | 304.9/km2 (789.7/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2009 estimate |
• Total | US$ 4,382,700 million (3rd1) |
• Per capita | US$ 2,779 |
| Currency | See footnote 2 |
| Time zone | UTC+4½ to +6 |
Website www.SAARC-Sec.org | |
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The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2005. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The 11 stated areas of cooperation are agriculture; education, culture, and sports; health, population, and child welfare; the environment and meteorology; rural development (including the SAARC Youth Volunteers Program); tourism; transport; science and technology; communications.
History
The concept of SAARC was first adopted by Bangladesh during 1977, under the administration of President Ziaur Rahman. In the late 1970s, SAARC nations agreed upon 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 1985, identified five broad areas for regional cooperation. New areas of cooperation were added in the following years.[1]
Objectives
The objectives of the Association as defined in the Charter are:[2]
- 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 realize their full potential;
- to promote and strengthen collective 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 cooperation with other developing countries;
- to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest; and
- to cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.
Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping on 13 November 2005,[3] 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.[4][5] 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.[5] On 4 March 2008, Iran requested observer status.[6] Followed shortly by the entrance of Mauritius.
Secretariat
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.[7] 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.[7]
The Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Secretariat[7] which was signed by Foreign Ministers of member countries on 17 November 1986 at Bangalore, India contains various clauses concerning the role, structure and administration of the SAARC Secretariat as well as the powers of the Secretary-General.
In several recent meetings the heads of state or government of member states of SAARC have taken some important decisions and bold initiatives to strengthen the organisation and to widen and deepen regional co-operation.
The SAARC Secretariat and Member States observe 8 December as the SAARC Charter Day1.
Regional Centres
The SAARC Secretariat has established various regional centres in member states. The 13th being SAARC Arbitration Council established at Islamabad in 2010. Each regional centre is managed by a governing board (GB). The GB has representatives of each of the member state and SAARC Secretariat.
Political issues
SAARC has intentionally laid more stress on "core issues" mentioned above rather than more decisive political issues like the Kashmir dispute and the Sri Lankan civil war. However, political dialogue is often conducted on the margins of SAARC meetings. SAARC has also refrained itself from interfering in the internal matters of its member states. During the 12th and 13th SAARC summits, extreme emphasis was laid upon greater cooperation between the SAARC members to fight terrorism.
South Asian Free Trade Area
Over the years, the SAARC members have expressed their unwillingness on signing a free trade agreement. Though India has several trade pacts with Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, similar trade agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh have been stalled due to political and economic concerns on both sides. In 1993, SAARC countries signed an agreement to gradually lower tariffs within the region, in Dhaka. Eleven years later, at the 12th SAARC Summit at Islamabad, SAARC countries devised the South Asia Free Trade Agreement which created a framework for the establishment of a free trade area covering 1.6 billion people. This agreement went into force on January 1, 2008. Under this agreement, SAARC members will bring their duties down to 20 per cent by 2009.
Dhaka 2009 Summit
The summit accorded observer status to People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea and United States of America. The nations also agreed to organize development funds under would cover all SAARC programs and also ranging from social, to infrastructure, to economic ones.
SAARC Youth Award
The SAARC Youth Award is awarded to outstanding individuals from the SAARC region. The award is notable due to 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.
Previous Winners:
1997: Outstanding Social Service in Community Welfare - Mr. Md. Sukur Salek (Bangladesh)
1998: New Inventions and Discoveries - Dr. Najmul Hasnain Shah (Pakistan)
2001: Creative Photography: South Asian Diversity - Mr. Mushfiqul Alam (Bangladesh)
2002: Outstanding contribution to protect the Environment - Dr. Masil Khan (Pakistan)
2003: Invention in the Field of Traditional Medicine - Mr. Hassan Sher (Pakistan)
2004: Outstanding contribution to raising awareness for TB and/or HIV/AIDS - Mr. Ajij Prasad Poudyal (Nepal)
2006: Promotion of Tourism in South Asia - Mr. Syed Zafar Abbas Naqvi (Pakistan)
2008: From Himalayan glaciers to verdant plains to coral reefs – protecting the Environment in South Asia - Ms. Uswatta Liyanage Deepani Jayantha (Sri Lanka)
2009: Outstanding contribution to humanitarian works in the aftermath of Natural Disasters - Dr. Ravikant Singh (India)
2010: Outstanding contribution for the Protection of Environment and mitigation of Climate Change - Ms. Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne (Sri Lanka)
South Asian Federation of Accountants
South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) is a forum of professional accountancy bodies in the SAARC Region.
Membership
Current members (alphabetically)
Future membership
The People's Republic of China has shown its interest in joining SAARC.[8] While Pakistan and Bangladesh support China's candidature, India is against the prospect of Chinese membership.[9] However, during the 2005 Dhaka summit, India agreed on granting observer status to the PRC along with Japan. During the 14th summit, Nepal along with Pakistan and Bangladesh, announced their support for the membership of China.[10][11][12] China seeks greater involvement in SAARC, however, finds it too early to apply for full membership.[13]
Indonesia intends to become an observer as well, and is supported by Sri Lanka.[14]
Iran, a state with borders to two SAARC members, has traditionally enjoyed strong cultural, economic and political relationships with Afghanistan and Pakistan and has expressed its desire to become a member of the South Asian organization. On 22 February 2005, the Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi indicated Iran's interest in joining SAARC by saying that his country could provide the region with "East-West connectivity."[15] On 3 March 2007, Iran asked to join the SAARC as an observer. SAARC Secretary-General Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji responded by saying that Iran's request for observer status would be taken up during a meeting of foreign ministers at the 3 April summit in New Delhi.[12][16]
Russia intends to become an observer as well and is supported by India.[17][18]
Myanmar has expressed an interest in joining as a full member, even though it is already a member of the ASEAN. If done so, Myanmar will become the ninth member in the group. India is currently backing Myanmar.[19][20] Myanmar’s military regime officially applied for full SAARC membership in May 2008. However, the application is still being considered and the government is currently restricted to observer status.[21]
Others
South Africa has participated in meetings.[22]
Secretaries General
 Abul Ahsan |
January 16, 1987 to 15 October 1989 |
 Kant Kishore Bhargava |
October 17, 1989 to December 31, 1991 |
 Ibrahim Hussain Zaki |
January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1993 |
 Yadav Kant Silwal |
January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1995 |
 Naeem U. Hasan |
January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998 |
 Nihal Rodrigo |
January 1, 1999 to January 10, 2002 |
| Q.A.M.A. Rahim |
January 11, 2002 to February 28, 2005 |
 Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji |
March 1, 2005 to February 29, 2008 |
| Sheel Kant Sharma |
March 1, 2008 to February 28, 2011 |
| Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed |
March 1, 2011 to present |
SAARC summits
See also
- Asia Cooperation Dialogue
- Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade
- Asia-Pacific Trade Agreements Database
- Asian Clearing Union
- SAARC Consortium on Open and Distance Learning
- BIMSTEC
- Mekong-Ganga Cooperation
- South Asian Economic Union
- South Asia Free Trade Agreement
- South Asian Football Federation
- Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
- South Asian Federation of Accountants
References
- ^ "A Brief on SAARC." South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. No date.
- ^ Charter of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Article 1.
- ^ "South Asia: Afghanistan Joins World's Largest Regional Grouping." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty], 3 April 2007.
- ^ Waliur Rahman. "US and S Korea to observe SAARC." BBC News, 11 April 2008.
- ^ a b "SAARC to grant observer status to US, S Korea, EU." Hindustan Times. 2 August 2006.
- ^ "Iran requests for observer status in SAARC." People's Daily, 5 March 2009.
- ^ a b c "Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of the Secretariat." South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, 17 November 1986.
- ^ Afghan and further Chinese membership prospects
- ^ China's membership prospects
- ^ chennaionline.com
- ^ telegraphnepal.com
- ^ a b irna.ir
- ^ China seeks bigger role in Saarc- Hindustan Times
- ^ Sri Lanka News
- ^ Iran's membership prospects
- ^ upi.com
- ^ english.people.com.cn
- ^ monstersandcritics.com
- ^ Sri Lanka News | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers
- ^ PTI - Press Trust of India
- ^ Mizzima News - Specialising in Burma-Related News and Multimedia
- ^ SAARC nations call for transparency in social sector - Thaindian News
- ^ http://www.maldivestraveller.mv/news/local/president-of-maldives-invites-indian-pm-to-the-17th-saarc-summit/665/
SAARC Youth - [1]
External links
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