Lesson 1/35 min
SAARC and South Asia
SAARC at a glance
- Full form: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
- Founded: 8 December 1985; first summit 7–8 December 1985 in Dhaka
- Secretariat: Kathmandu, Nepal; official language English
- Eight members: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan
- Latest member Afghanistan (3 April 2007); no SAARC summit has been held there
- Architect of the idea: President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh
- Before the founding, the foreign secretaries of seven countries first met in Colombo in 1981
- Last (18th) summit: Kathmandu, 26–27 November 2014; the 16th summit was held at Thimphu
Memory trick: Memory trick for the members: MBA IS BNP = Maldives, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan.
Secretaries-general
- First secretary-general: Abul Ahsan (Bangladesh)
- First woman secretary-general: Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed (Maldives)
- Md. Golam Sarwar (Bangladesh) served as the 15th secretary-general from 25 October 2023; his term ended in 2026
- The post rotates among members in alphabetical order; the term is 3 years
Watch out: Khandokar's GK gives outdated names for the SAARC secretary-general and chair. No summit has been held since 2014, so check the current post-holder before an exam.
SAARC trade agreements
| Agreement | Signed | In force | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAPTA (SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement) | 11 April 1993 | 1995 | Preferential trade concessions to one another |
| SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) | 6 January 2004, Islamabad | 1 January 2006 | Trade in goods only |
SAARC regional centres
| Centre | Location |
|---|---|
| Meteorological Research (SMRC) | Dhaka |
| Agricultural Information (SAIC) | Dhaka |
| Information (SIC) | Kathmandu |
| Tuberculosis (STC) | Kathmandu |
| Human Resources Development (SHRDC) | Islamabad |
| Energy (SEC) | Islamabad |
| Cultural (SCC) | Colombo |
| Forestry (SFC) | Thimphu |
| Coastal Zone Management (SCZMC) | Malé |
Member comparisons
- Highest literacy and per-capita income: Maldives; lowest: Afghanistan
- Landlocked members: Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan
- No regular army: Maldives and Bhutan
- Head of government is the president: Sri Lanka and Maldives (as the book states)
- Nepal is about the size of Bangladesh (as the book states)
- Last member to become independent: Bangladesh
- SAARC University: New Delhi, India
- Countries that have shown interest in joining (book): China, Iran, Russia, Myanmar, South Africa
Observers (nine)
- China, Japan, United States, South Korea, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, Australia and the European Union
- The African observer of SAARC: Mauritius
Check yourself
Where and when was the first SAARC summit?
At a glance
- 1
SAARC was founded on 8 December 1985; its first summit was in Dhaka and its secretariat is in Kathmandu.
- 2
SAARC has 8 members; the latest member is Afghanistan (2007); Ziaur Rahman was the architect of the idea.
- 3
First secretary-general: Abul Ahsan (Bangladesh); first woman secretary-general: Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed (Maldives).
- 4
SAPTA was signed in 1993 and took effect in 1995; SAFTA was signed in 2004 and took effect on 1 January 2006.
- 5
The last summit was held in Kathmandu in November 2014; the 16th summit was at Thimphu.