SAARC

Background
 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Introduction

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) comprises eight
countries of South Asia, i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was first
mooted in May 1980 by Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman. President Rahman
addressed letters to the Heads of Government of the countries of South Asia,
presenting his vision for the future of the region and the compelling arguments for
regional cooperation in the context of evolving international realities. The Foreign
Secretaries of seven countries in South Asia met for the first time in Colombo in
April 1981 and identified five broad areas for regional cooperation. A series of
meetings followed in Nepal (Kathmandu/November 1981), Pakistan
(Islamabad/August, 1982), BangladeshIndia (Delhi/July 1983) to enhance regional
cooperation. The next step of this process was the Foreign Ministers meeting in
New Delhi in 1983 where they adopted the Declaration on South Asian Regional
Cooperation (SARC). During the next two years South Asian nations committed
themselves to form this South Asian alliance and the process culminated in the First
SAARC Summit held on 7-8 December in 1985 in Dhaka where the Heads of State
or Government of seven countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka adopted the Charter formally establishing the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Preamble to the SAARC Charter

The preamble to the SAARC Charter spells out the intention of forming this South
Asian alliance as “We, the Heads of State or Government of BANGLADESH,
BHUTAN, INDIA, MALDIVES, NEPAL, PAKISTAN and SRI LANKA;
'Desirous of promoting peace, stability, amity and progress in the region through
strict adherence to the principles of the UNITED NATIONS CHARTER and NON-
ALIGNMENT, particularly respect for the principles of sovereign equality,
territorial integrity, national independence, non-use of force and non-interference in
the internal affairs of other States and peaceful settlement of all disputes’

'Conscious that in an increasingly interdependent world, the objectives of peace,

freedom, social justice and economic prosperity are best achieved in the SOUTH
ASIAN region by fostering mutual understanding, good neighbourly relations and
meaningful cooperation among the Member States which are bound by ties of
history and culture’

'Aware of the common problems, interests and aspirations of the peoples of

SOUTH ASIA and the need for joint action and enhanced cooperation within their
respective political and economic systems and cultural traditions'”

‘Convinced that regional cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA is

Council of Ministers

Comprising the Foreign Ministers of Member States, the Council of Ministers is

responsible for formulating policies, reviewing progress, deciding on new areas of
cooperation, establishing additional mechanisms as deemed necessary, and deciding on
other matters of general interest to the Association. The Council meets normally twice a
year and may also meet in extraordinary sessions by agreement of Member States.

Standing Committee

The Standing Committee comprising the Foreign Secretaries of Member States is

entrusted with the task of overall monitoring and coordination of programs, approving of
projects and programs, and modalities of financing, determining inter-sectoral priorities,
mobilizing regional and external resources, and identifying new areas of cooperation.
Usually this Committee meets twice a year preceding the Council of Ministers and
submits its reports to the Council of Ministers. It may also meet in special session as and
when necessary by agreement among Member States.

The Standing Committee is authorized to set up Action Committees comprising Member

States concerned with implementation of projects involving more than two but less than
seven Member States. (Article VII of the SAARC Charter).

Programming Committee

The Programming Committee (which is not a SAARC Charter body) comprises senior
officials of member States. It assists the Standing Committee in scrutinizing the
Secretariat Budget, considers the reports of the Technical Committees, SAARC Audio
Visual Exchange (SAVE) Committee, and Regional Centres finalizing, and the Calendar
of Activities.

Technical Committees

The SAARC Technical Committees are responsible for determination of the potential and
the scope of regional cooperation in agreed areas, formulation of programmes and
preparation of projects, determination of financial implications of sectoral programmes,
formulation of recommendations regarding apportionment of costs, implementation and
coordination of sectoral programmes, and monitoring of progress in implementation.

Working Groups
In addition to the Technical Committees, various Working Groups are established to
consider specific issues and make recommendations to the appropriate SAARC bodies.
Currently five Working Groups are established in the areas of Telecommunications and
ICT, Biotechnology, Intellectual Property Rights and tourism.

SAARC Secretariat

The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Secretariat coordinates and
monitors implementation of activities, prepares and services meetings, and serves as a
channel of communication between the Association and its Member States as well as
other regional organizations.

The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General, who is appointed by the Council of
Ministers from member countries in alphabetical order for a three-year term. Dr. Sheel
Kanta Sharma from India currently serves as the Secretary General of SAARC. The
Secretary General is assisted by Directors on deputation from Member States.

Committee on Economic Cooperation

The Committee of Economic Cooperation consists of Secretaries of Commerce of

member states and it promotes regional cooperation in the economic field.

The Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) was signed in

Dhaka during the 7th SAARC Summit, in1993. It aimes to promote and sustain mutual
trade and the economic cooperation among the South Asian States, through exchanging
concessions.

Later, with the broad objective of moving towards a South Asian Economic Union
(SAEU), the SAARC Member States signed the Agreement on SAARC Free Trade Area
(SAFTA) on 6 January 2004 at the 12th SAARC Summit held in Islamabad and came into
force on 1 January 2006. SAFTA has six core elements covering trade liberalization
programme, rules of origin, institutional arrangements, safeguard measures, special and
differential treatment for least developed countries (LDCs), and dispute settlement
mechanisms.

SAARC Summits since inception

1 Dhaka Bangladesh 7-8 December 1985

2 Bangalore India 16-17 November 1986
3 Katmandu Nepal 2-4 Novemeber 1987
4 Islamabad Pakistan 29-31 December 1988
5 Male Maldives 21-23 November 1990
6 Colombo Sri Lanka 21 December 1991
7 Dhaka Bangladesh 10-11 April 1993
8 New Delhi India 2-4 May 1995
 9 Male Maldives 12-14 May 1997
10 Colombo Sri Lanka 29-31 July 1998
11 Katmandu Nepal 4-6 January 2002
12 Islamabad Pakistan 2-6 January 2004
13 Dhaka Bangladesh 12-13 November 2005
14 New Delhi India 3-4 April 2007

SAARC Social Charter

The signing of the Social Charter by the Heads of State/ Government at the 12th SAARC
Summit held in Islamabad in 2004, has been a major development in SAARC. The Social
Charter aims at promoting the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and accelerating
economic growth and social progress through poverty alleviation, improving health
conditions of peoples, human resource development, empowerment of women, and
providing welfare to the children. Although the Social Charter is not a binding document,
it underpins the SAARC Charter objective of 'providing all individuals the opportunity to
live in dignity and to realize their full potentials'.

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SAARC
Background(Contd....)

SAARC Regional Convention of Suppression of Terrorism

The SAARC Regional Convention of Suppression of Terrorism was signed during the
Third SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in November 1987. This was the result of a series
of discussions held between Member States for more than two years starting from very
first SAARC Summit held in Dhaka. This Convention recognizes dangers posed by the
spread of terrorism and its harmful effects on peace & cooperation and also the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States. This Convention came into force on 22
August 1988. Later, an Additional Protocol to this Convention was signed during the 12th
SAARC Summit in Islamabad on 06 January 2004. This Additional Protocol updates the
Convention by adding terrorist financing and has been ratified by all Member States.

SAARC Regional Agenda

The Agenda of Regional Cooperation under SAARC has expanded over the years and are
broadly covered under the Regional Integrated Programme of Action (RIPA). In addition,
a number of issues are given high priority. At the 12th SAARC Summit held in
Islamabad in 2004, the Heads of States/Government recognized ‘poverty alleviation’ as
the greatest challenge facing the peoples of South Asia and declared poverty alleviation as
the overarching goal of all SAARC activities.

Co-operation with the International Organizations

SAARC has established institutionalized arrangements for cooperation with a number of

other regional groupings and international and regional organizations. It has entered into
cooperative arrangements through the signing of MOUs with organizations like the EC,
UNCTAD, ESCAP, UNIFEM, APT, ITU, UNDP, UNDCP, UNEP, UNIFEM, CIDA,
WHO, ADB, PTB, UNAIDS, UNICEF, World Bank etc. SAARC has recently agreed
with ASEAN Secretariat for a Partnership Work Plan (2004-2005) in a number of areas
including trade, HIV/AIDS, energy and tourism. SAARC has a dialogue forum with
ASEAN and EU on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly sessions.

People to People Contacts

Under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, some specifically identified categories of
persons along with their spouses and dependent children are entitled to travel within the
SAARC region without visa. Although the Visa Scheme is yet to attain the depth and
coverage of regional visa schemes like the Schengen visa, it has proved to be effective in
generating credibility about the SAARC process.

SAARC as an institution has always emphasized the need for strengthening people-to-
people contacts through greater participation of NGOs, including professional bodies in
the private sector, to promote socio-economic and cultural co-operation in South Asia.
SAARC has formulated a set of guidelines and procedures for granting recognition to
regional NGOs and professional bodies.

SAARC Charter Day

The SAARC Secretariat and Member States observe 8th December as the SAARC
Charter Day.

SAARC designated years

SAARC has designated years to draw special focus on specific social issues and has
contributed to raising awareness, mobilizing resources and adopting/adapting national
programs.

SAARC designated years

1989 Year of Combating Drug Abuse and Drug Trafficking
1990 Year of Girl Child
1991 Year of Shelter
1992 Year of Environment
 1993 Year of Disabled persons
1994 Year of the Youth
1995 Year of Poverty Alleviation
1996 Year of Literacy
1997 Year of Participatory Governance
1999 Year of Biodiversity
2002-2003 Year of Contribution of Youth to Environment
2004 Year of Awareness for TB & HIV/AIDS
2006 South Asia Tourism Year
SAARC has also declared decades on specialized themes;
SAARC Decades
1991-2000 Decade of the Girl Child
2001-2010 Decade of the Rights of the Chil

SAARC Regional apex bodies

The following professional / trade bodies have been granted recognition by SAARC on
the given dates:

- SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), received recognition in December

1992

- SAARC LAW – consists of members of the legal profession of the SAARC Countries,
received recognition in July 1994

- South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), received recognition in May 1997

- SAARC Federation of University Women (SAARCFUW), received recognition in May

1997;

- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation of Architects (SAARCH), received

recognition in May 1997;

- Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA),

received recognition in May 1997

- SAARC Cardiac Society, received recognition in July 1998 (Head Quarters in

Dhaka)

- SAARC Diploma Engineers Forum (SDEF), received recognition in January 2002

- SAARC Teachers’ Federation (STF), received recognition in January 2002

- Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FSWL), received recognition in

January 2002

- Federation of State Insurance Organizations of SAARC Countries (FSIO),

received recognition in January 2002

-Radiological Society of SAARC Countries (RSSC), received recognition in January 2002

- SAARC Surgical Care Society (SSCS), received recognition in January 2002

- South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA)- August 2004

For more information vist;

The Official website of the SAARC Secretariat at www.saarc-sec.org

The Official website of SAARC Information Centre at www.saarc-sic.org

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