Home > Topics > SAARC

SAARC

South Asian Association for Regional Corporation is an organization of eight South Asian countries founded in 1985 and is a regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of South Asian countries. The members of the SAARC organization include India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The organization was created to promote development in regional integration as well as in economical conditions of the members of SAARC organization and also to promote social, technological and cultural developments in the region. The Secretariat of the organization is located in Kathmandu, Nepal and SAARC represents 3% of world area and 21% of the world population with 1.7 billion people. The meetings of the head of states usually are scheduled to meet on an annual basis and the foreign secretaries meetings is scheduled twice annually. There are 11 areas where SAARC countries co-operate with each other and the area includes agriculture, education, culture and sports, population and child welfare, health, environment and meteorology, rural development, tourism, science and technology, transport and prevention of drug trafficking and drug abuse. SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations with the European Union and United Nations being the observer. The idea for formation of an organization for co-operation in South Asia was discussed at least in three conferences; the Asian Relations Conference; Baguio Conference and Colombo Powers Conference. Later, in the 1970s the seven inner South Asian nations that included India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives agreed to create a platform for trade, bloc and for the people of South Asia to work together in a environment of friendship, trust and understanding. On 2nd May 1980, Late President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman raised the necessity of regional, political as well as economical co-operation in South Asia and then the first SAARC summit was held on 8th December 1985 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Afghanistan wasnt a part of the SAARC during its formation and it was awarded a full membership later in 2005. The main objective of SAARC is to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve the quality of their life, to increase the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to promote and strengthen the cooperation with other developing nation and to maintain the peace and prosperity of its member nations. In the 13th SAARC meeting there was emphasis made in cooperation among the members of the SAARC countries to fight collectively against terrorism. There are also political situations of the SAARC countries discussed in the meeting and the member countries are desist from interfering in domestic issues of the member countries. Few of the achievements of the SAARC association include South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme. SAFTA agreement was signed on 6th January 2004 during the twelfth SAARC Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan and the agreement came into force from 1st January 2016. Under the agreement, SAARC members were asked to bring down their duties to 20 percent by 2009. This has led to an increase of exports from US$206.7 billion in 2009 to US$354.6 billion in 2012. The imports too increased from US$330 billion to US$602 billion in 2012. However, the intra trade among the SAARC members amounted only 1% of SAARCs GDP. SAARC Visa exception Scheme was launched in 1992 after the fourth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad. During the summit it was decided to provide special travel document to certain categories of dignitaries which would exempt them from visas within the region. This list currently consists of 24 categories of entitled persons and it includes Dignitaries, judges, parliamentarians, businessmen and senior officials etc. SAARC has six Apex Bodies that includes SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), SAARCLAW, South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), South Asian Foundation (SAF), South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) AND Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL). SAARC has been able to conduct 18 SAARC Summit so far. The 19th SAARC Summit is scheduled on for 9th and 10th November 2016 and it will be hosted in Pakistan. The activities and the initiatives of SAARC are monitored by the SAARC Secretariat and it acts as the communication channel between SAARC and its member states. The Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal and the secretariat is presently headed by Arjun Thapa, Nepals ex-foreign secretary. SAARC has received both positive as well as negative reviews for its functioning. SAARC is appraised for the increase in the scope in the regional cooperation of SAARC and the rise in the interactions of commerce of the SAARC countries. However, SAARC is criticized as it has not been able to achieve anything big in the past three decades and there has also been a rise of terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are also disputes between the two major members of the organization India and Pakistan and it has also lead to a dismal growth in the social and economic sectors of the organization.

Lanka's Central Bank gets USD 400 mn swap from RBI
PTI Feeds | January 9, 2019 7:12 PM IST
Colombo, Jan 9 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Central Bank on Wednesday said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)...
Lanka's Central Bank gets USD 400 mn swap from RBI
indiacom
2019-01-09T08:12:45+00:00
2019-01-09T08:12:45+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Kartarpur Corridor: Sushma Swaraj Rules Out Bilateral Dialogue With Pakistan, Says Terror And Talks Can’t go Together
India.com News Desk | November 28, 2018 12:34 PM IST
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday ruled out any bilateral dialogue wit...
Kartarpur Corridor: Sushma Swaraj Rules Out Bilateral Dialogue With Pakistan, Says Terror And Talks Can’t g
indiacom
2018-11-28T01:34:03+00:00
2018-11-28T01:34:03+00:00
SAARC
India.com
India Terms Pakistan's 'Invite' For Saarc Summit in Islamabad as Ploy
India.com News Desk | November 28, 2018 6:41 AM IST
New Delhi: India termed Pakistan's 'invite' to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 20th South Asian...
India Terms Pakistan's 'Invite' For Saarc Summit in Islamabad as Ploy
indiacom
2018-11-27T19:41:45+00:00
2018-11-27T19:41:45+00:00
SAARC
India.com
PM Modi to be Invited to Attend 20th SAARC Summit, Says Pakistan Foreign Office
India.com News Desk | November 27, 2018 5:24 PM IST
New Delhi: Pakistan is likely to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 20th South Asian Associ...
PM Modi to be Invited to Attend 20th SAARC Summit, Says Pakistan Foreign Office
indiacom
2018-11-27T06:24:08+00:00
2018-11-27T11:29:13+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Aligarh Muslim University Student's Union Elections Underway Amid Tight Security, Result to be Out Today
India.com News Desk | November 3, 2018 12:32 PM IST
Aligarh: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) which is holding its Student's Union elections on Satur...
Aligarh Muslim University Student's Union Elections Underway Amid Tight Security, Result to be Out Today
indiacom
2018-11-03T01:32:16+00:00
2018-11-03T01:32:16+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Imran Khan’s PTI Refutes Reports of Inviting SAARC Leaders Including Modi to PM Oath Ceremony
India.com News Desk | July 31, 2018 9:01 PM IST
New Delhi, Jul 31: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday turned down reports of the party planni...
Imran Khan’s PTI Refutes Reports of Inviting SAARC Leaders Including Modi to PM Oath Ceremony
indiacom
2018-07-31T10:01:09+00:00
2018-07-31T10:01:09+00:00
SAARC
India.com
SAARC nations' business leaders discuss regional economic integration in Nepal
PTI Feeds | March 17, 2018 10:11 PM IST
Kathmandu, Mar 17 (PTI) Prominent business leaders from the SAARC countries gathered here and discus...
SAARC nations' business leaders discuss regional economic integration in Nepal
indiacom
2018-03-17T11:11:58+00:00
2018-03-17T11:11:58+00:00
SAARC
India.com
No proposal to review MFN status to Pakistan: Govt
PTI Feeds | January 4, 2018 9:14 PM IST
New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) There is no proposal to review the 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) status to Pak...
No proposal to review MFN status to Pakistan: Govt
indiacom
2018-01-04T10:14:39+00:00
2018-01-04T10:14:39+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Wipro, Cisco collaborate for smart lightings
PTI Feeds | November 20, 2017 7:31 PM IST
New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Wipro Lighting, part of Wipro Enterprises, said today that it will collabora...
Wipro, Cisco collaborate for smart lightings
indiacom
2017-11-20T08:31:48+00:00
2017-11-20T08:31:48+00:00
SAARC
India.com
India to Fight Against Pakistan Along With SAARC Nations at South Asian Boxing Championship
ANI Feeds | September 27, 2017 8:27 AM IST
Guwahati: India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan during the South Asian boxing Championship, which ...
India to Fight Against Pakistan Along With SAARC Nations at South Asian Boxing Championship
indiacom
2017-09-26T21:27:30+00:00
2017-09-28T23:31:18+00:00
SAARC
India.com
SAARC Summit Unlikely This Year as India Slams Pakistan For Promoting Terrorism
India.com News Desk | September 23, 2017 7:27 AM IST
New Delhi, September 23: There may be no SAARC summit this year as well as India and Pakistan's rela...
SAARC Summit Unlikely This Year as India Slams Pakistan For Promoting Terrorism
indiacom
2017-09-22T20:27:39+00:00
2017-09-22T20:52:06+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Threats endangering South Asia's peace on rise: Sushma
IANS Feeds | September 22, 2017 9:51 PM IST
New York, Sep 22 (IANS) In a veiled reference to Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj h...
Threats endangering South Asia's peace on rise: Sushma
indiacom
2017-09-22T10:51:14+00:00
2017-09-22T10:51:14+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Telangana skill academy inks MoU with Red Hat
PTI Feeds | August 2, 2017 6:52 PM IST
Hyderabad, Aug 2 (PTI) Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) today said it entered into a...
Telangana skill academy inks MoU with Red Hat
indiacom
2017-08-02T07:52:08+00:00
2017-08-02T07:52:08+00:00
SAARC
India.com
India plans SAARC meet for startups, says Nirmala Sitharaman
Press Trust of India | June 19, 2017 5:43 PM IST
New Delhi, June 19: India is planning to organise a meet of startups of the South Asian region for e...
India plans SAARC meet for startups, says Nirmala Sitharaman
indiacom
2017-06-19T06:43:11+00:00
2017-06-19T07:23:36+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Need to make SAARC more proactive: Pak
PTI Feeds | May 23, 2017 7:07 PM IST
Islamabad, May 23 (PTI) Pakistan today said the SAARC member states should make concerted efforts to...
Need to make SAARC more proactive: Pak
indiacom
2017-05-23T08:07:45+00:00
2017-05-23T08:07:45+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Schneider Electric launches low voltage APFC panel 'VarSet'
ANI Feeds | May 11, 2017 7:23 PM IST
New Delhi [India], May 11 (ANI): Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and ...
Schneider Electric launches low voltage APFC panel 'VarSet'
indiacom
2017-05-11T08:23:09+00:00
2017-05-11T08:23:09+00:00
SAARC
India.com
ISRO SAARC Satellite: First South Asian telecommunication Satellite to become operational this week
Sandhya Dangwal | May 8, 2017 11:51 AM IST
Sriharikota, May 8: As part of its efforts to build goodwill in the South Asian Association for Regi...
ISRO SAARC Satellite: First South Asian telecommunication Satellite to become operational this week
indiacom
2017-05-08T00:51:09+00:00
2017-05-08T01:04:11+00:00
SAARC
India.com
South Asian GSAT 9 satellite: Pakistan responds to satellite launch, says 'India was not willing to develop the project on a collaborative basis'
Sohit Mishra | May 6, 2017 11:41 AM IST
New Delhi, May 6: Fulfilling the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2014 South ...
South Asian GSAT 9 satellite: Pakistan responds to satellite launch, says 'India was not willing to develop t
indiacom
2017-05-06T00:41:03+00:00
2017-05-06T00:41:03+00:00
SAARC
India.com
South Asia satellite (GSAT-9) launched by ISRO from Sriharikota: All you must know about Narendra Modi's 'priceless gift' to SAARC countries
Shubhang Chauhan | May 5, 2017 5:00 PM IST
Bengaluru, May 5: ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) on Friday launched its Rs 450 crores Geo...
South Asia satellite (GSAT-9) launched by ISRO from Sriharikota: All you must know about Narendra Modi's 'pri
indiacom
2017-05-05T06:00:55+00:00
2017-05-05T12:24:49+00:00
SAARC
India.com
Forcepoint expects revenue share from govt biz to rise by 10%
PTI Feeds | May 5, 2017 10:22 PM IST
New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Cyber security firm Forcepoint expects its revenue from government business t...
Forcepoint expects revenue share from govt biz to rise by 10%
indiacom
2017-05-05T11:22:09+00:00
2017-05-05T11:22:09+00:00
SAARC
India.com