SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION (SAARC)

Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

South Africa has participated in meetings.

ASIA AND SAARC FROM WITHOUT

Perspective from a world bound by a myriad of bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral agreements.

Asia emerging as a major hub in world commerce indicated by rising share of merchandise and services trade

HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF SAARC

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The concept of SAARC was first adopted by Bangladesh during 1977, under the administration of President Ziaur Rahman. 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

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an SAARC) organization of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. selfThe idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was first mooted in May 1980. After consultations, the Foreign Secretaries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981. This was followed by a meeting of the Committee of the Whole in Colombo in August-September 1981, Augustwhich identified five broad areas for regional cooperation. The Foreign Ministers of South Asia, at their first meeting in New Delhi in August 1983, adopted the Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) 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.

SECRETARIES GENERAL
Abul Ahsan Kant Kishore Bhargava Ibrahim Hussain Zaki
January 16, 1987 to 15 October 1989 October 17, 1989 to December 31, 1991

January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1993

Yadav Kant Silwal Naeem U. Hasan Nihal Rodrigo

January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1995

January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998

January 1, 1999 to January 10, 2002

Q.A.M.A. Rahim Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji Sheel Kant Sharma

January 11, 2002 to February 28, 2005 March 1, 2005 to February 29, 2008 March 1, 2008 to February 28, 2011

Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed

March 1, 2005 to February 29, 2008

OBJECTIVES
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To promote the welfare of the peoples 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 selfof South Asia; To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one anothers 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 interests; and To cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.

PRINCIPLES
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Cooperation within the framework of the Association is based on respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, noninterference in the internal affairs of other States and mutual benefit; Such cooperation is to complement and not to substitute bilateral or multilateral cooperation; and Such cooperation should be consistent with bilateral and multilateral obligations of Member States. General Provisions Decisions at all levels in SAARC are to be taken on the basis of unanimity; and Bilateral and contentious issues are to be excluded from the deliberations of the Association.

SECRETARIA T
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The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. 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 threethe Professional and the General Services Staff, and also an appropriate number of functional units called Divisions assigned to Directors on deputation from Member States. 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. The Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Secretariat 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 Secretary-General.

SAARC FROM WITHIN

Motivation for greater integration in S Asia economic and non-economic gains (strategic, dynamic, ecological)
SAARC economies have been pursuing liberalization & looking towards greater Asia through bilateral FTAs

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 Dhaka. agreement to gradually lower tariffs within the region, in Dhaka. Eleven years later, at the 12th SAARC Summit at Islamabad, SAARC countries Islamabad, 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, 2006. Under this agreement, SAARC members will bring their duties down to 20 per cent by 2009.

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 war. 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. terrorism.

SAARC YOUTH AWARD

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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)

SUMMITS OF SAARC

No

Date

Country

Host

Host leader

1st

78 December 1985

Bangladesh

Dhaka

Ataur Rahman Khan

2nd

1617 November 1986

India

Bangalore

Rajiv Gandhi

3rd

24 November 1987

Nepal

Kathmandu

Marich Man Singh Shrestha

4th

2931 December 1988

Pakistan

Islamabad

Benazir Bhutto

5th

2123 November 1990

Maldives

Mal

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

6th

21 December 1991

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Ranasinghe Premadasa

7th

10-11 April 1993

Bangladesh

Dhaka

Khaleda Zia

8th

24 May 1995

India

New Delhi

P. V. Narasimha Rao

9th

1214 May 1997

Maldives

Mal

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

10th

2931 July 1998

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike

11th

46 January 2002

Nepal

Kathmandu

Sher Bahadur Deuba

12th

26 January 2004

Pakistan

Islamabad

Zafarullah Khan Jamali

13th

1213 November 2005

Bangladesh

Dhaka

Khaleda Zia

14th

34 April 2007

India

New Delhi

Manmohan Singh

15th

13 August 2008

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake

16th

2829 April 2010

Bhutan

Thimphu

Jigme Thinley

17th

10-11 November 2011[9]

Maldives

Addu

Mohamed Nasheed

18th

2013 [10]

Nepal

Kathmandu

Baburam Bhattarai

MOMENTS

Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh in his address to the 17th SAARC Summit has stressed on better economic cooperation in South Asia.

Indian

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (right) shakes hands with Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani after a meeting during the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Addu.

Indian

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh bows in front of a flag of India and Maldives during a guard of honor after his arrival in Addu, Maldives