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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).
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’
Standing Committee
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.
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.
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'.
SAARC
Background(Contd....)
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.
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.
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.
The SAARC Secretariat and Member States observe 8th December as the SAARC
Charter Day.
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.
The following professional / trade bodies have been granted recognition by SAARC on
the given dates:
- SAARC LAW – consists of members of the legal profession of the SAARC Countries,
received recognition in July 1994