South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

**South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation**

(In Detail)

Membership 8 member states
2 observers Secretariat Headquarters Kathmandu Established December 8, 1985 Secretary General Chenkyab Dorji Official website www.saarc-sec.org

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC, proposed by Ziaur Rahman, the then-president of Bangladesh, was established on December 8, 1985. SAARC is an association of seven countries of South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan is expected to become a member at the Delhi summit which is scheduled for July,2006

SAARC encourages cooperation in agriculture, rural development, science and technology, culture, health, population control, narcotics control and anti-terrorism. SAARC has intentionally stressed these "core issues" and avoided more divisive political issues, above all the Kashmir dispute which bitterly divides the two largest member states, India and Pakistan. However, political dialogue is often conducted on the margins of SAARC meetings.

In 1993, SAARC countries signed an agreement to gradually lower tariffs within the region. Nine 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 zone covering 1.4 billion people. This agreement went into force on January 1, 2006.

Membership

Current members:

(in statu nascendi)

Observer nations:

(PRC)

The United States and South Korea have also made formal requests to be given observer status, and the European Union is shortly expected to do likewise.

List of SAARC Summits

Areas of Cooperation

Agriculture and Rural Development
Health, Population Activities & Poverty
Women, Youth and Children
Environment and Forestry
Science and Technology and Meteorology
Human Resources Development
Transport
Disaster management
Removal of terrorism

Future Membership

On 22 February 2005, the Foreign Minister of Iran, Kamal Kharrazi, indicated Iran's interest in joining SAARC, saying that his country could provide the region with "East-West connectivity".

The People's Republic of China has also been suggested as a possible SAARC member, such membership being encouraged by Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, India is more reluctant about the prospect of Chinese membership, while Bhutan does not even have diplomatic relations with China. At the 2005 summit in Dhaka, member states decided to give China and Japan observer status.

In April 2006, the United States of America and South Korea made formal requests to be granted observer status. A posiitive response was given by SAARC though the detail for these two countries' observer status have not yet been finalised. The European Union has also indicated interest in being given observer status, and is expected to make a formal request for the same to the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting on July 2006. [http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1686410,00050003.htm

Results of Dhaka 2005 Summit

On November 13, 2005, the Dhaka Summit issued a declaration to admit the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as a member, and to accord observer status to China and Japan. The nations also agreed to organize development funds under a single financial institution with a permanent secretariat, that would cover all SAARC programs ranging from social, to infrastructure, to economic ones.

Comparison with other Regional blocs

References

External links

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