SAARC

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Logo
Member states   Observer states
Headquarters	Kathmandu
Official languages	English
Demonym	South Asian
Member states	8 members[show] 9 observers[show]
Leaders
• Secretary-General	Amjad B. Hussain
Establishment	8 December 1985
Area
• Total	5,099,611 km2(1,968,971 sq mi) (7th)
• Water (%)	6.8
Population
• 2015 estimate	1,713,870,000 (1st)
• Density	336.1/km2 (870.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2015 estimate
• Total	US$9.9 trillion [3] (3rd)
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
• Total	US$ 2.9 trillion[3] (5th)
Currency	8 currencies
Time zone	(UTC+4:30 to +6)
Calling code	8 codes
Internet TLD	.asia[a]
Website www.saarc-sec.org

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) of the global economy, as of 2015.

SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes development of economic and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006. SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union.

Contents

 

• 1Historical background
• 2Members and observers
  • 2.1Members
  • 2.2Observers
  • 2.3Potential future members

Historical background

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various Asian regional organisationsv • d • e

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 ColomboPowers Conference held in Sri Lanka in April 1954.

In the ending years of the 1970s, the seven inner South Asian nations that included Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lankaagreed 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, 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.^[8] 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. Responding to Rahman and Birendra's convention, the officials of the foreign ministries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981.^[8] The Bangladeshi 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 Rahman's proposal for a regional organisation might provide an opportunity for new smaller neighbours to renationalise all bilateral issues and to join with each other to form an opposition against India. Pakistan assumed that it might be an Indian strategy to organise 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 diplomatic consultations headed by Bangladesh between South Asian U.N. representatives at the UN headquarters 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. 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 in Dhaka by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 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 secretariat-general. 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 Wangchuk, 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.

Members and observers

Economic data is sourced from the International Monetary Fund, current as of April 2015, and is given in US dollars.

Members

Country	Population[14](2016)	GDP (Nominal)	GDP (PPP)	GDP per Capita (PPP)	GDP Growth Rate (2014)	Exports (2014)	Foreign Direct Investment (2013)	Foreign Exchange Reserves(million)	Defense Budget(% of GDP) (2014)[15]	Literacy Rate(Given Age & above)	Life Expectancy	Population below Poverty Line	Primary School Enrollment [16]	Secondary School enrollment [17]	Population undernourished(%) (2015)[18]	Human Development Index	Democracy Index	Global Terrorism Index	G20	BRICS	BIMSTEC	IORA	APTA	BBIN	SASEC	AIIB	ACU	ACD	ADB	World Bank	Nuclear Weapons
Afghanistan	34,656,032	$21.3 bn	$63.5 bn	$1,976	3.2%	$0.3 bn	N/A	$6,442	N/A	28.1%(Age 15)	60	15.8%	N/A	54%	26.8%	0.465 (171)	2.77 (147)	9.233 (2)	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✔	✔	✔	✖
Bangladesh	162,951,560	$205.3 bn	$572.6 bn	$3,581	6.2%	$31.2 bn	$0.66 bn	$24,072	$2.2 bn(1.2%)	57.7%(Age 15)	70	31.5%	92%	54%	16.4%	0.570 (142)	5.73 (86)	0 (124)	✖	✖	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖
Bhutan	797,765	$2.2 bn	$6.3 bn	$8,158	6.4%	$0.7 bn	$63 mln	N/A	N/A	52.8%(age 15)	68	23.7%	91%	78%	N/A	0.605 (132)	4.93 (101)	0.305 (107)	✖	✖	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖
India	1,324,171,354	$2308.0 bn	$7996.6 bn	$6,266	7.3%	$464.0 bn	$31.0 bn	$351,557	$45 bn(1.9%)	74.4%(age 15)	67	21.9%	94%	69%	15.2%	0.609 (130)	7.74 (35)	4.222 (39)	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Maldives	427,756	$3.0 bn	$5.2 bn	$14,980	4.5%	$0.28 bn	N/A	$356	N/A	99%(age 15)	77	16%	N/A	N/A	5.2%	0.706 (104)	__	__	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✔	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔	✖
Nepal	28,982,771	$21.6 bn	$70.7 bn	$2,488	5.5%	$1.0 bn	$10 mln	$5,439	N/A	66%(age 15)	68	25.2%	98%	67%	7.8%	0.548 (145)	4.77 (105)	4.791 (32)	✖	✖	✔	✖	✖	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖
Pakistan	193,203,476	$250 bn	$928.0bn	$4,886	4.2%	$25.1 bn	$0.709 bn(2014)	$16,305	$7.4 bn(3.5%)	55%(age 15)	66	22.6%	72%	34%	22%	0.538 (147)	4.40 (112)	10 (1)	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✖	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Sri Lanka	20,798,492	$80.4 bn	$233.7 bn	$11,068	7%	$11.8 bn	$0.9 bn	$8,314	$1.4 bn(2.3%)	98.1%(age 15)	75	8.9%	94%	99%	22%	0.756 (73)	6.42 (69)	4.077 (42)	✖	✖	✔	✔	✔	✖	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✖

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

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. 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.^[22] Despite initial reluctance and internal debates, Afghanistan joined SAARC as its eighth member state in April 2007.

Observers

States with observer 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 2007, 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.