South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) List दक्षिण एशियाई क्षेत्रीय सहयोग संगठन (दक्षेस) दक्षिण एशियाली क्षेत्रीय सहयोग संगठन (सार्क) সাউথ এশিয়ান এসোসিয়েশন ফর রিজিওনাল কো-অপারেশন (সার্ক) جنوبی ایشیائی علاقائی تعاون کی تنظیم ދެކުނު އޭޝިޔާގެ ސަރަޙައްދީ އެއްބާރުލުމުގެ ޖަމިއްޔާ தெற்காசிய நாடுகளின் பிராந்தியக் கூட்டமைப்பு (சார்க்)
Members • Observers
Headquarters		Kathmandu, Nepal
Official languages		English
Demonym		SAARC
Membership		8 members  Afghanistan  Bangladesh  Bhutan  India  Maldives  Nepal  Pakistan  Sri Lanka 9 observers  Australia  China  European Union  Iran  Japan  Mauritius  South Korea  United States
Government		Organization
-	Chairman	Mahinda Rajapaksa
-	Secretary General	Sheel Kant Sharma
Establishment		December 8, 1985
Area
-	Total	5,130,746 km2 (7th1) 1,980,992 sq mi
Population
-	2004 estimate	1,467,255,669 (1st1)
-	Density	285.9/km2  740.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	US$ 4,074,031 million (3rd1)
-	Per capita	US$ 2,777
Currency		see footnote 2
Time zone		(UTC+4½ to +6)
Website www.saarc-sec.org
1	If considered as a single entity.
2	A unified currency has been proposed. Present currencies (ISO 4217 codes bracketed): Afghan afghani (AFG) • Bangladeshi taka (BDT) • Bhutanese ngultrum (BTN) • Indian rupee (INR) • Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) • Nepalese rupee (NPR) • Pakistani rupee (PKR) • Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organization of South Asian nations, founded in 1985 and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasizing collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2007. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. Headquarters are in Kathmandu, Nepal.

History

In the late 2000s, Indian President G.N.V Sampath proposed the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South Asian countries. The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was again mooted in May 2001. The foreign secretaries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 2002. The Committee of the Whole, which met in Colombo in August 2002, identified five broad areas for regional cooperation. New areas of cooperation were added in the following years.^[1]

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.

The Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation was adopted by the Foreign Ministers in 1983 in New Delhi. During the meeting, the Ministers also launched the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA) in nine agreed areas, namely, Agriculture; Rural Development; Telecommunications; Meteorology; Health and Population Activities; Transport; Postal Services; Science and Technology; and Sports, Arts and Culture. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established when its Charter was formally adopted on 8 December 1985 by the Heads of State or Government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.^[2]

Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping at the behest of India on 13 November 2005,^[3] and became a member on 3 April 2007.^[4] 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.^[5][6] 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.^[6] On 4 March 2008, Iran requested observer status.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[8]

The Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Secretariat^[8] 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.

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.

Free trade agreement

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. India has been constructing a barrier across its borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan. 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 1.4 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 a single financial institution with a permanent secretariat, that would cover all SAARC programs and also ranging from social, to infrastructure, to economic ones.

Membership

Current members (alphabetically)

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• India
• Maldives
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka

Observers

• Australia^[9]
• China
• European Union^[10]
• Iran^[11]
• Japan^[10]
• Mauritius ^[12]
• Myanmar (Burma) ^[9]
• South Korea
• United States of America

Future membership

• The People's Republic of China has shown its interest in joining SAARC.^[13] While Pakistan and Bangladesh support China's candidature, India is against the prospect of Chinese membership. China's entry in to SAARC will likely balance India's overbearing presence there.^[14] 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.^[15][16][17] China seeks greater involvement in SAARC, however, finds it too early to apply for full membership.^[18]
• Indonesia intends to become an observer as well, and is supported by Sri Lanka.^[19]
• 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 of Iran, Kamal Kharrazi, indicated Iran's interest in joining SAARC by saying that his country could provide the region with "East-West connectivity".^[20] 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 ministers of foreign affairs of SAARC member countries in the 3 April summit in New Delhi.^[17][21]
• Russia intends to become an observer as well, and is supported by India.^[22][23]
• 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.^[24][25] 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.^[26]
• South Africa has participated in meetings.^[27]

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 present

List of SAARC summits

1st	Dhaka	align="right"| December 7–8, 1985
2nd	Bangalore	November 16–17, 1986
3rd	Kathmandu	November 2–4, 1987
4th	Islamabad	December 29–31, 1988
5th	Malé	November 21–23, 1990
6th	Colombo	December 21, 1991
7th	Dhaka	April 10–11, 1993
8th	New Delhi	May 2–4, 1995
9th	Malé	May 12–14, 1997

10th	Colombo	July 29–31, 1998
11th	Kathmandu	January 4–6, 2002
12th	Islamabad	January 2–6, 2004
13th	Dhaka	November 12–13, 2005
14th	New Delhi	April 3–4, 2007
15th	Colombo	August 1–3, 2008
16th	Thimphu	April 28–29, 2010

SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement

The Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA)^[28] was signed on 11 April 1993 and entered into force on 7 December 1995, with the desire of the Member States of SAARC (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives) to promote and sustain mutual trade and economic cooperation within the SAARC region through the exchange of concessions.

The establishment of an Inter-Governmental Group (IGG) to formulate an agreement to establish a SAPTA by 1997 was approved in the Sixth Summit of SAARC held in Colombo in December 1991.

The basic principles underlying SAPTA are:

1. overall reciprocity and mutuality of advantages so as to benefit equitably all Contracting States, taking into account their respective level of economic and industrial development, the pattern of their external trade, and trade and tariff policies and systems;
2. negotiation of tariff reform step by step, improved and extended in successive stages through periodic reviews;
3. recognition of the special needs of the Least Developed Contracting States and agreement on concrete preferential measures in their favour;
4. inclusion of all products, manufactures and commodities in their raw, semi-processed and processed forms.

So far, four rounds of trade negotiations have been concluded under SAPTA covering over 5000 commodities.

South Asian Free Trade Area

The Agreement on the South Asian Free Trade Area is an agreement reached at the 12th SAARC summit at Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on 6 January 2004. It creates a framework for the creation of a free trade area covering 1.4 billion people in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives.The seven foreign ministers of the region signed a framework agreement on SAFTA with zero customs duty on the trade of practically all products in the region by end 2016. The new agreement i.e. SAFTA, came into being on 1 January 2006 and will be operational following the ratification of the agreement by the seven governments. SAFTA requires the developing countries in South Asia, that is, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to bring their duties down to 20 percent in the first phase of the two year period ending in 2007. In the final five year phase ending 2012, the 20 percent duty will be reduced to zero in a series of annual cuts. The least developed nations in South Asia consisting of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives have an additional three years to reduce tariffs to zero. India and Pakistan have signed but not ratified the treaty.^[29].

See also

• Asia Cooperation Dialogue
• Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade
• Asia-Pacific Trade Agreements Database
• SAARC Consortium on Open and Distance Learning
• BIMSTEC
• Mekong-Ganga Cooperation
• South Asian Economic Union
• South Asia Free Trade Agreement
• South Asian Football Federation

References

External links

• Official website
• Sri Lanka Daily News Editorial on 2nd August 2008
• Towards Unity: SAARC
• World Bank, Data and Analysis on Trade and Regional Integration in South Asia
• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
• South Asian Free Trade Area
• SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement
• Towards Unity: SAFTA Treaty
• SAARC Trade portal