What is SAARC?
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| What is SAARC? |
South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC)
What is the full form of Saarc ?
The full name of SAARC is 'South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation-SAARC'.
The proposal for the formation of 'SAARC' was first proposed by the then President of Bangladesh, General Zia-ur-Rehman in 1980. SAARC was established on 7-8 December 1985 in Dhaka (Bangladesh) at a conference of heads of state of seven countries of South Asia. These seven countries are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives. It was the first beginning of regional cooperation in international politics of the seven neighboring countries of South Asia. At the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka on 12-13 November 2005, it was decided to make Afghanistan the eighth member country of this organization. At the 14th SAARC Summit held in New Delhi in April 2007, Afghanistan was made the eighth member country of SAARC.
Thus the total number of member countries of this organization became eight.
Members of SAARC
1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Bangladesh
4. Sri Lanka
5. Nepal
6. Bhutan
7. Maldives
8. Afghanistan
SAARC Observer
1. China
2. Japan
3. South Korea
4. Iran
5. NO. America
6. Mauritius
7. European Union (2005)
8. Australia (2008)
9. Myanmar (2008)
SAARC Charter
There are total 10 Articles/Articles in the Charter of 'SAARC'. In these, the objectives, principles, institutions and financial arrangements of 'SAARC' have been defined, which are as follows-
Objectives of SAARC
According to Article 1 of the Charter of SAARC, its main objectives are-
1. To increase the collective self-reliance of South Asian nations.
2. To improve the welfare and standard of living of the people of South Asian region.
3. To increase active cooperation and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields.
4. Mutual trust, understanding and evaluating each other's problems.
5. To accelerate the economic, social and cultural development of the South Asia region.
6. To increase cooperation with other developing countries.
7. To cooperate in international fora in matters of common interest.
Main principles of SAARC:-
According to Article 2 of the Charter of SAARC, the main principles of 'SAARC' are as follows - 1. Under the framework of 'SAARC', the principles of cooperation, equality, territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and mutual benefit. to respect.
SAARC Institutions
Summit—Seventh Summit
Year—10-11 April, 1993
Location: Dhaka (Bangladesh)
Summit—Eighth Summit
Year—May 2-4, 1995
Location—New Delhi (India)
Summit—Ninth Summit
Year—12-14 May, 1997
Location—Male (Maldives)
Summit—Tenth Summit
Year—July 29-30, 1998
Location- Colombo (Sri Lanka)
Summit—Eleventh Summit
Year—January 5-6, 2002
Location: Kathmandu (Nepal)
Summit—Twelfth Summit
Year—5-6 January, 2004
Location- Islamabad (Pakistan)
Summit—Thirteenth Summit
Year—12-13 November, 2005
Location: Dhaka (Bangladesh)
Conference—Fourteenth Summit
Year—3-4 April, 2007
Location—New Delhi (India)
Summit—Fifteenth Summit
Year—August 2-3, 2008
Location- Colombo (Sri Lanka)
Summit—Sixteenth Summit
Year—April 2010
Location- Thimphu (Bhutan)
2. Council of Ministers: According to Article 4 of the Charter, the Council of Ministers is a council of foreign ministers of member countries. Its meeting is held once in 6 months, but its special meetings can be held at any time as required. Its functions include- determining the policy of 'SAARC', deciding on issues of common interest, finding new areas of cooperation, etc.
3. Standing Committee: According to Charter Article 5, the Standing Committee is a committee of secretaries of the member countries. Its meetings are mandatory to be held once in a year. The main functions of this committee are to monitor the programs of cooperation, to determine the inter-sectoral priorities, to identify new areas of cooperation on the basis of studies.
4. Technical Committees: Article 6 of the Charter contains provisions relating to technical committees. These include representatives of all member countries. They are responsible for implementing, coordinating and monitoring programs in their respective areas.
5. Executive Committee: Article 7 of the Charter provides for the Executive Committee. It is established by the Standing Committee.
6. Secretariat: Article 8 provides for the Secretariat of 'SAARC'. The Secretariat was established on January 16, 1987, after the second 'SAARC Summit' (Bangalore). The term of the Secretary-General is for two years and the office of the Secretary-General rotates among the members. The 'SAARC' Secretariat is located in Kathmandu (Nepal). SAARC Member Countries Contribution
The contribution of member countries in the expenditure for 'SAARC' activities, programs and working of the Secretariat is as follows-
India—32 percent
Pakistan —25 percent
Bangladesh—11 percent
Sri Lanka—11 percent
Nepal—11 percent
Bhutan – 5 percent
Maldives—5 percent
Afghanistan not yet determined. —0
South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA)
The draft establishing the 'South Asia Preferential Trade Agreement' – 'SAPTA' (SAPTA) was signed by all the 7 member countries of 'SAARC' at the 7th Summit of 'SAARC' held in Dhaka on April 11, 1993. Later the 'SAPTA Agreement' came into force with effect from December 7, 1995. Under SAPTA, a framework was provided for the exchange of tariff concessions for the purpose of promoting trade and economic cooperation among SAARC nations. The scope of 'SAPTA' extends to Para-Tariff, Non-Tariff and Direct Trade Measures in the area of Tariffs. Since the implementation of SAPTA, three rounds of negotiations have been held so far for the exchange of tariff-concessions among the member states.
South Asian Free Trade Area–SAFTA
The draft Treaty of 'South Asia Free Trade Area'-'SAFTA' (SAFTA) was signed on 6 January 2004 at the 12th SAARC Summit held in Islamabad. The treaty was signed by seven SAARC countries-India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives. Under the draft of this treaty, 'SAFTA' came into force from January 1, 2006. The basic objective of 'SAFTA' is to reduce the tariff level in mutual trade among all its member states to less than 5 percent by 2016. Being a large and developed economy of the South Asia region, India will also give various concessions to the less developed countries, including compensation for the loss caused to them due to reduction in customs duties. India has prepared two separate lists for deduction of customs duty under 'SAFTA'. Of these, the first list contains 884 items, Which have been prepared in the context of countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The second list contains 763 items. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal have been kept in this list for deduction of customs duty. It is noteworthy that according to the structure of 'SAARC', India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been placed in the category of 'Relatively Developed Countries' (NLDC), while Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal are in the category of 'Last Developed Countries' (LDC). Is placed. Different fee structure has been fixed for both the categories. Under 'SAFTA', it has been provided that all the member countries of SAARC will provide special trade related facilities to each other. Under this, India has given the status of 'Most Favored Nation' (MFN) to Pakistan, While Pakistan has not done so yet. Pakistan continues to stand in the way of 'SAFTA' by not giving 'Most Favored Nation' status to the cause of bilateral issues, whereas 'SAFTA/SAARC' is not a forum to resolve bilateral issues. The share of mutual trade of SAARC countries in world trade was close to 3 percent till 2005. South Asian nations are economically backward, despite having about 20 percent of the world's population, because the northern countries do more than 60 percent of their trade among themselves. It is noteworthy that the intra-regional trade is about 38.4 percent in East Asia, about 37.3 percent in North America and about 63.4 percent in the European Union (EU), but the interregional trade of SAARC countries is only 3.4 percent of the world trade. Whereas SAFTA/SAARC is not a forum to resolve bilateral issues. The share of mutual trade of SAARC countries in world trade was close to 3 percent till 2005. South Asian nations are economically backward, despite having about 20 percent of the world's population, because the northern countries do more than 60 percent of their trade among themselves. It is noteworthy that the intra-regional trade is about 38.4 percent in East Asia, about 37.3 percent in North America and about 63.4 percent in the European Union (EU), but the interregional trade of SAARC countries is only 3.4 percent of the world trade. Whereas SAFTA/SAARC is not a forum to resolve bilateral issues. The share of mutual trade of SAARC countries in world trade was close to 3 percent till 2005. South Asian nations are economically backward, despite having about 20 percent of the world's population, because the northern countries do more than 60 percent of their trade among themselves. It is noteworthy that the intra-regional trade is about 38.4 percent in East Asia, about 37.3 percent in North America and about 63.4 percent in the European Union (EU), but the interregional trade of SAARC countries is only 3.4 percent of the world trade.
15th SAARC Summit (2008)
The 15th summit of SAARC was held in Colombo (Sri Lanka) on 2-3 August 2008. This conference will also be known for the fact that for the first time all the member nations of 'SAARC' were successful in forming a consensus on terrorism. The convention adopted a 'Convention for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters'. Other agreements that the member states signed include the formation of a 'Regional Standards Organization' and agreement to include Afghanistan in 'SAFTA'. Apart from this, a charter of manuals for the $ 300 million 'SAARC Development Fund' (SAARC-Development Fund-SDF) was also released in the conference. In this summit, Australia and Myanmar were given observer status in 'SAARC'.
SAARC : Important facts
• The formation of SAARC was first proposed by the then President of Bangladesh, General-Zia-ur Rahman, in 1980.
• SAARC was established at a conference of heads of state of seven countries of South Asia that was held in Dhaka (Bangladesh) on 7-8 December 1985.
• At present the total number of member countries of SAARC is 8. Afghanistan was made the eighth member of SAARC (in 2007).
• Except Maldives, seven other SAARC countries are part of the Indian subcontinent.
• In 2005 China, Japan, The. America including Korea, Iran, Mauritius were given observer status in SAARC.
• In 2008, Australia and Myanmar were also given observer status in SAARC.
• The 'European Union' (EU) has observer status in SAARC.
• SAARC was granted observer status as an organization by the United Nations Organization (UNO) in December 2004.
• About 140 crore people live in the member countries of SAARC. In this sense, SAARC is the most populous organization in the world.
• There are a total of 10 articles in the Charter of SAARC.
• The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka (Bangladesh) on 7-8 December 1985.
• So far three SAARC summits have been held in India. Among these, the second summit (in 1986) was held in Bangalore, the eighth and fourteenth summits (in 1995 and 2007) were held in New Delhi.
• At the 7th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka on 11 April 1993, the draft establishing 'SAPTA' was signed by all the members of SAARC. SAPTA came into force on 7 December 1995.
• At the 12th SAARC Summit held in Islamabad on January 6, 2004, the draft of the Treaty of SAFTA was signed by all the members of SAARC.
• 'SAFTA' came into effect from January 1, 2006.
• The 15th SAARC Summit was held in Colombo (Sri Lanka) on 2-3 August 2008.
• Abdul Gayoom (Maldives) is the only head of state who has participated in all SAARC summits held so far.
• Bilateral issues or controversial matters cannot be included in SAARC meetings.
• According to the Charter (Article 4) of SAARC, the 'Council of Ministers' is a council of foreign ministers of member countries.
• The Secretariat of SAARC was established on 16 January 1987 after the Second Summit. The SAARC Secretariat is located in Kathmandu (Nepal).
• Five centers of the organization have been established by the SAARC Secretariat. These include the Agricultural and Meteorological Research Center, Dhaka (in Bangladesh); SAARC Research Centre, New Delhi (India); Coastal Management Centre, Male (Maldives); SAARC Cultural Centre, Colombo (Sri Lanka) and SAARC Information Center Kathmandu (Nepal).
• The 'South Asia CEO Forum' was formed on January 2, 2003 by all the seven members of SAARC.
• SAARC is a forum for 'South-South Co-operation'.
• Every year 8th December is celebrated as 'SAARC Day'.
• India's contribution (32%) is the highest in the expenditure for the work of SAARC.
• According to the structure of SAARC, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, including India, have been placed in the category of 'Relatively Developed Countries' (NLDC), while Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal have been kept in the category of 'Least Developed Countries' (LDC). • Intra-regional trade of SAARC countries is only 3.4 percent of world trade.
• The five member countries of SAARC (including India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh) are also members of the Asia Co-operation Dialogue (ACD).
• The decade 2006-15 has been declared as the 'Poverty Eradication Decade' by all the member states of SAARC.
• The post of the SAARC Secretary General is provided in the English alphabetical order among the member states. The tenure of the Secretary General of the SAARC Secretariat is 2 years.
• Sheelkant Sharma of India became the Secretary General of SAARC on March 1, 2008. On 1 March 2011, Fatimya Dhiyan Saeed, the first woman to hold the position, was appointed Secretary General of the Maldives after her term ended on 28 February 2011. The headquarters (secretariat) of SAARC is in Kathmandu (Nepal).
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