SAARC

1. SAARC
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the
regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of nations
in South Asia.

The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) is an

organisation of South Asian nations, which was established on 8 December
1985 when the government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka formally adopted its charter providing for the
promotion of economic and social progress, cultural development within the
South Asia region and also for friendship and cooperation with other
developing countries.

It is dedicated to economic, technological, social and cultural development

emphasising collective self- reliance. In terms of population, its sphere of
influence is the largest of any regional organisation: almost 1.5 billion
combined population of its member states. In April 2007, Afghanistan became
its eighth member.

2. Members of SAARC
The member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lank.
SAARC was founded by seven states in 1985. In 2005, Afghanistan began
negotiating their accession to SAARC and formally applied for membership
on the same year. The issue of Afghanistan joining SAARC generated a
great deal of debate in each member state, including concerns about the
definition of South Asian identity because Afghanistan is a Central Asian
country.
 The SAARC member states imposed a stipulation for Afghanistan to hold
a general election .The non-partisan elections were held in late
2005. Despite initial reluctance and internal debates, Afghanistan joined
SAARC as its eighth member state in April 2007.

3. Reason for establishment

SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) was formed
keeping in mind the needs of developing South Asian countries.

SAARC was formed to prove that Asian countries can develop and coexist
with each other and even compete without hurting each other’s aims.

The member states of SAARC are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,

Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These countries agreed upon
the creation of a trade bloc and to provide a platform for the people of
South Asia to work together in a spirit of friendship, trust, and
understanding, hence SAARC was formed.

4. Objectives
SAARC’s edifice is built upon a foundation of a strong set of objectives. Every
decision SAARC takes and every policy it frames is guided by the overall
objectives it had set for itself in the charter.

Promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and improve their
quality of life.
Cultural development in South Asia is one of the priorities, which come
under the broader goal of improving quality of life.
Accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development
in the region by providing all individuals the opportunity to live in
dignity and realise their full potential.

Promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of

South Asia.

Contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one

another’s problems.

Promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic,

social, cultural, technical and scientific fields.

Strengthen co-operation with other developing countries.

 Strengthen co-operation among themselves in international forms on
matters of common interest.

Cooperate with international and regional organisation with similar

aims and purposes.

5.Principles of SAARC
The principles are as follows:

Respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, political equality and

independence of all members states.

Non-interference in the internal matters is one of its objectives.

Cooperation for mutual benefits.

All decisions to be taken unanimously and need a quorum of all eight

members.

All bilateral issue to be kept aside and only multilateral issues to be

discussed without being prejudice by bilateral issues.

6. SAARC SUMMITS
The Heads of State or Government "shall meet once a year or more often as
and when considered necessary by the Member States". However, the
Summit has generally been convened at an interval of one and half year or
so.

No Date Country Host Host leader

1st 7–8 December 1985 Bangladesh Dhaka Ataur Rahman Khan

2nd 16–17 November 1986 India Bengaluru Rajiv Gandhi

3rd 2–4 November 1987 Nepal Kathmandu King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah

4th 29–31 December 1988 Pakistan Islamabad Benazir Bhutto

5th 21–23 November 1990 Maldives Malé Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

6th 21 December 1991 Sri Lanka Colombo Ranasinghe Premadasa

7th 10–11 April 1993 Bangladesh Dhaka Khaleda Zia

8th 2–4 May 1995 India New Delhi P V Narasimha Rao

9th 12–14 May 1997 Maldives Malé Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

10th 29–31 July 1998 Sri Lanka Colombo Chandrika Kumaratunga

11th 4–6 January 2002 Nepal Kathmandu Sher Bahadur Deuba

12th 2–6 January 2004 Pakistan Islamabad Zafarullah Khan Jamali

13th 12–13 November 2005 Bangladesh Dhaka Khaleda Zia

14th 3–4 April 2007 India New Delhi Manmohan Singh

15th 1–3 August 2008 Sri Lanka Colombo Mahinda Rajapaksa

16th 28–29 April 2010 Bhutan Thimphu Jigme Thinley

17th 10–11 November 2011 Maldives Addu Mohammed Nasheed

18th 26–27 November 2014[62] Nepal Kathmandu Sushil Koirala

19th 9–10 November 2016 Pakistan Islamabad Cancelled

20th 2019 Sri Lanka Colombo Maithripala Sirisena

7. Secretariat
The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 and was

inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal.

8. Regional centres (map)

The SAARC Secretariat is supported by following Regional Centres
established in the Member States to promote regional co-operation. These
Centres are managed by Governing Boards comprising representatives
from all the Member States, SAARC Secretary-General and the Ministry of
Foreign/External Affairs of the Host Government. The Director of the
Centre acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to
the Programming Committee. After 31 December 2015, there 6 regional
centres were stopped by unanimous decision. These are SMRC, SFC, SDC,
SCZMC, SIC, SHRDC.

Regional Centre Location Country

SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC) Dhaka Bangladesh

SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC) Dhaka Bangladesh

SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC) Thimphu Bhutan

SAARC Development Fund (SDF) Thimphu Bhutan

SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC) New Delhi India

SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC) Gandhinagar India

SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC) Malé Maldives

SAARC Information Centre (SIC) Kathmandu Nepal

SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC) Kathmandu Nepal

SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC) Islamabad Pakistan

SAARC Energy Centre (SEC) Islamabad Pakistan

SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC) Colombo Sri Lanka

9. Secretaries general of SAARC

# Name Country Took office Left office

1 Abul Ahsan Bangladesh 16 January 1985 15 October 1989

2 Kant Kishore Bhargava India 17 October 1989 31 December 1991

3 Ibrahim Hussein Zaki Maldives 1 January 1992 31 December 1993

4 Yadav Kant Silwal Nepal 1 January 1994 31 December 1995

5 Naeem U. Hasan Pakistan 1 January 1996 31 December 1998

6 Nihal Rodrigo Sri Lanka 1 January 1999 10 January 2002

 7 Q. A. M. A. Rahim Bangladesh 11 January 2002 28 February 2005

8 Chenkyab Dorji Bhutan 1 March 2005 29 February 2008

9 Sheel Kant Sharma India 1 March 2008 28 February 2011

10 Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed Maldives 1 March 2011 11 March 2012

11 Ahmed Saleem Maldives 12 March 2012 28 February 2014

12 Arjun Bahadur Thapa Nepal 1 March 2014 28 February 2017

13 Amjad Hussain B. Sial Pakistan 1 March 2017 Incumbent

10. Apex and recognised bodies

SAARC has six Apex Bodies, they are-

SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI)

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in
Law(SAARCLAW),
South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA),
South Asia Foundation (SAF),
South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC),
Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL)

SAARC also has about 17 recognised bodies.

1 Association of Management and Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA)

2 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation of Architects (SAARCH)
3 Federation of State Insurance Organizations of SAARC Countries (FSIO)
4 SAARC Diploma Engineers Forum (SDEF)
5 Radiological Society of SAARC Countries (RSSC)
6 SAARC Teachers Federation (STF)
7 SAARC Surgical Care Society (SSCS)
8 South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA)
9 SAARC Women’s Association (SWA)
10 Hindu Kush Himalayan Grassroots Women’s Natural Resources Management (HIMAWANTI)
11 Federation of Association of Pediatric Surgeons of SAARC Countries (FAPSS)
12 South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE)
13 SAARC Federation of Oncologists (SFO)
14 South Asia Association of National Scout Organization (SAANSO)
15 South Asian Network of Economic Research Institute (SANEI)
16 SAARC Academy of Ophthalmology (SAO)
17 South Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF)
18 Self Employed Women Association (SEWA)

11. SAARC agreements

1) Agreement for establishment of SAARC Arbitration

Council
2) Final Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation.
3) Final Agreement on Customs Matters
4) Charter of SAARC Development Fund
5) Agreement on establishing the SAARC food bank
6) Agreement on the Establishment of South Asian
Regional Standards Organization (SARSO)
7) Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation

8) Agreement on south Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)

SAFTA was envisaged primarily as the first step towards the transition to
a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) leading subsequently towards a
Customs Union, Common Market and the Economic Union.
The SAFTA Agreement was signed on 6 January 2004 during Twelfth
SAARC Summit held in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Agreement entered into
force on 1 January 2006, and the Trade Liberalisation Programme
commenced from 1 July 2006. Under this agreement, SAARC members will
bring their duties down to 20 percent by 2009.

9) SAARC visa exemption scheme

The SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme was launched in 1992. The leaders at the
Fourth Summit (Islamabad, 29–31 December 1988), realizing the importance
of people-to-people contact among SAARC countries, decided that certain
categories of dignitaries should be entitled to a Special Travel document. The
document would exempt them from visas within the region. As directed by the
Summit, the Council of Ministers regularly kept under review the list of
entitled categories.
Currently, the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include
dignitaries, judges of higher courts, parliamentarians, senior officials,
entrepreneurs, journalists, and athletes.
The Visa Stickers are issued by the respective Member States to the entitled
categories of that particular country. The validity of the Visa Sticker is
generally for one year. The implementation is reviewed regularly by the
Immigration Authorities of SAARC Member States.

12. SAARC disaster management centre

South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Disaster
Management Centre (SDMC-IU) has been set up at Gujarat Institute of
Disaster Management (GIDM) Campus, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
Eight Member States, i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected to be served by
the SDMC (IU). It is entrusted with the responsibility of serving
Member States by providing policy advice, technical support on system
development, capacity building services and training for holistic
management of disaster risk in the SAARC region. The centre also
facilitates exchange of information and expertise for effective and
efficient management of disaster risk.

13. Areas of cooperation of SAARC

a. Agriculture and rural development
Regional cooperation on agriculture and rural development has been in the focus of SAARC
from its inception. In 1990, two separate technical committees on agriculture and rural
development were established and a number of specialized programs and projects were
initiated by the member states through these technical committees under the auspices
of SAARC Integrated Programme of Action (SIPA). Later, the two technical committees on
agriculture and rural development were merged into one. The reconstituted committee which
is called ‘Technical Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development’ started functioning in
July, 2000. The reconstituted committee was also mandated to consider livestock and
fisheries matters. Functioning of this technical committee has been helpful in bridging
 knowledge gap, sharing experience and expertise, identifying areas for pursuing regional
actions and projects etc.

b. Investment and commercial dispute settlement

With a view to creating conditions favorable for fostering greater investment by investors of one
member state in the territory of another member state of SAARC and for providing a regional
forum for settlement of commercial disputes by conciliation and arbitration, Agreement for
Establishment of SAARC Arbitration Council was signed during the Thirteenth SAARC Summit
held in Dhaka on 12-13 November 2005. The Agreement for Establishment of SAARC Arbitration
Council entered into force on 2 July 2007.

c. Biotechnology
The need to promote cooperation in the area of biotechnology has been recognized by the heads of
States at various SAARC Summits since 1990. A Working Group on Biotechnology was established in
2004 as a part of the restructured SAARC Integrated Program of Action (SIPA) to coordinate regional
cooperation in the area of biotechnology. The working group has met several times and in their third
meeting, they considered and finalized a Concept Paper on a Program of Cooperation in the field of
Biotechnology between SAARC member states. The Program provides for collaboration in the areas of
medical biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, animal
biotechnology, marine biotechnology, bioinformatics, plant tissue culture, genetically modified
organisms and bio-safety, marker assisted selection, bio-fertilizer and bio-gas, vaccine production,
genomics and proteomics, Nano-biotechnology, RNA interference technology platform, stem cell
research and Industrial biotechnology.

d. Culture
The heads of states at the thirteenth SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005 recognized
the role of culture in bringing the peoples of South Asia closer. They also realize that culture could
play a major role in promoting relations and understanding among South Asian countries. With
this backdrop, the Ministers of Culture of the SAARC Member States adopted the SAARC Agenda
for Culture in their second meeting on 31st October 2007 with the following activities: Promotion
of SAARC culture online, launching of a SAARC website on culture, production of cultural source
materials on South Asia, cooperation with other organizations, Establish linkage between Culture
and other sectors in attaining social and economic development, cooperation in the field of
product development and promotion of cultural products, and SAARC exchange program on
culture.

e. Economic and trade

The one of the key objectives of SAARC is to accelerate the economic growth and social progress in the
region. Keeping this in mind, SAARC leaders adopted the South Asian Preferential Trading
Arrangement (SAPTA) and South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). The SAFTA Agreement was
signed on 6 January 2004 and came into effect on 1 January, 2006. The Agreement on SAPTA was
signed on 11 April, 1993 and entered into force on 7 December, 1995. Establishment of South Asian
Standard Organization, holding of SAARC trade fair in different venues of SAARC member states,
agreements on trade in services, and agreement for avoidance of double taxation are some of the
milestone achievements in trade and economic area within SAARC member states.
a) South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA)
b) South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA)
c) South Asian Standard Organization
d) SAARC Trade Fairs
e) SAARC Agreement on Trade in Service
f) Avoidance of Double taxation
 f. Education
SAARC countries have been cooperating in the development of various dimensions of human
resource. SAARC Human Resource Development Centre in Islamabad undertakes research, imparts
training, and disseminates information on HRD issues and advises Member States on HRD related
policies and strategies.

At the thirteenth SAARC summit held in November, 2005 in Dhaka, India proposed to create a Centre
of Excellence, in the form of a South Asian University, which can provide world class facilities and
professional faculty to students and researchers drawn from every country of the region. With this
aim, South Asian University (SAU) was established by the eight member nations of SAARC in New
Delhi, India. SAU started its operations from the academic year 2010. The university now offers post-
graduate and doctoral programs in various disciplines that include Development Economics,
Computer Science, Biotechnology, Mathematics, Sociology, International Relations and Law. SAU
attracts students from all member nations and its degrees are recognized by all the eight SAARC
countries.
Moreover, the SAARC Chair, Fellowship and Scholarship Scheme were instituted in 1987 which
facilitate exchange of ideas through interaction among students, scholars and academics in the SAARC
countries.

g. Energy
The South Asian region is energy deficient as it does not produce enough oil and gas to meet its needs
thus depends heavily on imports. Most of the Member States do not have the capacity to generate
sufficient electricity to meet their demands. Therefore, Securing sustainable energy supplies to meet
energy needs at affordable prices has become a major energy policy imperative of Member States of
SAARC.

The process of regional cooperation in energy sector began in January, 2000 with the establishment
of a Technical Committee on Energy. The Technical Committee on Energy met twice. Thereafter,
recognizing that this vital area requires focused attention, the Council of Ministers approved the
creation of a specialized Working Group on Energy in January, 2004.
The thirteenth SAARC summit, decided to establish the SAARC Energy Centre in Islamabad to
promote development of energy resources, including hydropower; and energy trade in the region; to
develop renewable and alternative energy resources; and promote energy efficiency and conservation
in the region. The Centre which was established in 2006 has become fully operational.

h. Environment
Environment has been an area of concern within the SAARC member states. Therefore, the heads of
states of SAARC nations have been reiterating the need of cooperation in this area. Some significant
headway has also been achieved in this regard over the last two decades. A Regional Study on the
Causes and Consequences of Natural Disasters and the Protection and Preservation of the
Environment was commissioned by the leaders in 1987 and the study was completed in 1991. A
Technical Committee on Environment was established in 1992 to examine the recommendations of
the regional study, identify measures for immediate action, and to decide on modalities for their
implementation.
SAARC Environment Ministers have been regularly meeting to further enhance regional cooperation
in the area of environment, climate change and natural disasters since 1992. SAARC Environment
Action Plan adopted by the Third Meeting of the SAARC Environment Ministers (Male, 15-16 October
1997) identified some of the key concerns of Member States and set out the parameters and modalities
for regional cooperation. Another Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change was held in Dhaka on 3 July
2008 adopted the Dhaka Declaration and SAARC Action Plan on Climate Change.

Establishment of regional centres such as the SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre in the Maldives,
the SAARC Forestry Centre in Bhutan, the SAARC Disaster Management Centre in India and the SAARC
Meteorological Research Centre in Bangladesh constitutes a framework of SAARC Institutions which
address diverse aspects of environment, climate change and natural disasters.

i. Finance
To enhance the cooperation among the SAARC member states regarding financial matters and
economic development, the finance ministers of SAARC nations have been regularly meeting. A
number of milestones have been accomplished toward greater cooperation in financial issues
within SAARC region.
A SAARC-ADB Inception Workshop for the SAARC Studies on Trade, Economics and Finance was
held at the SAARC Secretariat on 23-24 June 2011 with regard to the Study on Economic
Integration within SAARC countries. Another SAARC workshop on Public Debt Management was
held at the SAARC Secretariat on 26 December, 2011. A SAARC Expert Group on Development of
Capital Markets in South Asia was also held at the SAARC Secretariat on 27 December, 2011.

With a view to promoting cooperation among central banks and finance ministries in SAARC
member countries through staff visits and regular exchange of information,
the SAARCFINANCE was established on 9 September, 1998 as a regional network of the SAARC
Central Bank Governors and Finance Secretaries. Harmonizing the banking legislations and
practices within the region and establishing a more efficient payment system within the SAARC
region are among the primary objectives of SAARCFINANCE. With this end in view, the SAARC
Payment Council (SPC) was launched by SAARCFINANCE in 2008.

j. Food security and SAARC food bank

Establishing a ‘Food Reserve’ to ensure food security of the region was one of the first regional
cooperation mechanisms set up by SAARC. In 1988, the ‘Agreement on Establishing the SAARC
Food Security Reserve’ entered into force. However, due to some technical difficulties, the reserve
was not been utilized by the member states. In January, 2004, the Council of Ministers
recommended establishment of a Regional Food Bank which was endorsed by the twelfth SAARC
summit held in Islamabad on 4-6 January 2004. India prepared a Concept Paper for the Food Bank
– which was discussed over several rounds of meetings of the Food Security Reserve Board and the
Technical Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (TCARD). The thirteenth SAARC
summit held in Dhaka on 12-13 November, 2005 reiterated the establishment of the Bank.

The SAARC Food Bank was established initially to provide emergency supply to a nation facing crisis
resulting from production shortfall or a natural calamity like cyclone, floods, draught, earthquake
and such other factors. The fourteenth SAARC summit in New Delhi in 2007 approved the move to
adopt a common approach to collective food security of the region and since then the institutional
progress and policy guidelines have much walked ahead to give it a functional character. SAARC
Food Bank is now operational and now the question is how to make it broad based and responsive to
taking challenges of disaster mitigation that a nation may suffer from any of the calamities.

By March, 2007, an Inter-governmental Expert Group (IGEG) finalized the text of the Agreement for
the establishment of the Food Bank and the Agreement was signed at the fourteenth SAARC summit
in New Delhi in April, 2007. At the time of establishment of the Food Bank, the total quantum of
food grain was finalized at 241,580 Metric Tons from the original signatory Member States. At that
time, contribution of Afghanistan was left to be added as it was about to join SAARC. At the first
meeting of the Food Bank Board held in Colombo in October, 2008, Afghanistan agreed to set their
contribution at 1,420 MT of wheat. Thus, the total quantum stood at 243,000 MT. At present
153,000 tons in India, 40,000 tons each in Bangladesh and Pakistan, 4,000 tons each in Nepal and
Sri Lanka, 1,200 tons in Afghanistan, 200 tons in Bhutan, and 180 tons in Maldives -- are available
with the SAARC Food Bank.

The fourth Board Meeting of the SAARC Food Bank was held in Dhaka on 27-28 October 2011. This
was a follow-up of the earlier three meetings, the first and the second of which were held in Colombo
in October, 2008 and February, 2009 respectively, and the third one in Kabul in November, 2009.
 k. Funding mechanism
South Asian Development Fund (SADF), a funding mechanism in SAARC was formed in 1996
merging the SAARC Fund for Regional Projects (SFRP) and the SAARC Regional Fund. SADF’s
objectives were to support industrial development, poverty alleviation, protection of environment,
human resource development and promotion of social and infrastructure development projects in
the SAARC region.

South Asian Development Fund (SADF) was found to be inadequate when the SAARC Member
States considered instituting various sectoral funding mechanisms e.g. Poverty Alleviation Fund,
Infrastructure Fund, South Asian Development Bank, Media Development Fund, Voluntary Fund for
the Differently Able Persons during 2002-2005. In September, 2005, the SAARC Financial Experts
looked at the entire gamut of issues relating to funding of SAARC projects and programs; and,
amongst others, agreed that in lieu of proliferating sectoral financing mechanisms, the SADF be
reconstituted into the SAARC Development Fund (SDF). Furthermore, SDF would have a permanent
Secretariat, with three windows (Social, Economic, and Infrastructure). The thirteenth SAARC
summit held in Dhaka on 12-13 November, 2005 finally decided to reconstitute the SADF into SDF
to serve as the “umbrella financial mechanism” for all SAARC projects and programs.

l. Information and communication technology

Communication plays a vital role in building regional cooperation. Hence, the issue of communication
has been given proper importance within the SAARC framework. The heads of states of SAARC
countries have stressed the importance of developing infrastructure and adequate communications
networks among Member States to reinforce the process of economic cooperation during the ninth
SAARC summit held in Male in 1997.

To enhance the collaboration among the member states of SAARC with regard to communication, the
communication ministers of SAARC countries have been meeting on a regular basis and a number of
programs have been initiated. A plan of Action on telecommunication was adopted in the first
conference of SAARC Communication ministers in May, 1998 to promote cooperation among Member
States in the field of telecommunication on a sustained basis.

A Revised SAARC Plan of Action on Telecommunications was adopted in 2004 with a view to
promoting cooperation in the enhancement of telecommunication links, utilizing information
technologies within the SAARC region and minimizing disparities within and among Member States
in the telecommunication field. The Working Group on Telecommunications and ICT was established
by the Council of Ministers in January, 2004. The working group holds several meeting and discussed
various aspects of regional cooperation on communication.

The third meeting of the working group was held in Ghaziabad, India in March, 2009 and the group
made deliberations on up-gradation of regional telecom infrastructure and agreed in principle that the
capacity of the existing inter country links needs to be increased; that the maximizing the use of
terrestrial system such as optical fiber, microwave link and that the growth of telecom traffic, both
voice and data meant for SAARC countries will require to remain within the region.

The group also discussed issues like cross-border interference of radio signals, revision of accounting
rates and collection charges among SAARC countries, multilateral utilization of terrestrial
communications routes among SAARC countries, cyber security etc.

m. Poverty alleviation
Since the inception of SAARC, its member states have been working together with a view to
alleviating poverty in the region. The SAARC leaders at the sixth summit held in Colombo in 1991
established an Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) and the
commission provided a conceptual framework for poverty alleviation through social mobilization
and empowerment in South Asia.
To eradicate poverty from the region through concerted efforts of the Member States of SAARC, a few
programs have been undertaken e.g. a three-tier mechanism, a two-tier mechanism, a Plan of Action
on Poverty Alleviation, and the declaration of SAARC Decade of Poverty Alleviation (2006-2015).
SAARC Development Goals (SDG) has also been introduced to set appropriate targets for the member
states and call for attainment of those targets in scheduled timeframe.

n. Science and technology

At the thirteenth summit held in Dhaka on 13 November 2005, SAARC leaders decided to give
priority attention to encourage regional cooperation in the areas of science and technology to meet
the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Accordingly, the first meeting of the Ministers of Science and Technology took place in New Delhi on
16 September, 2008. A five-year (2008-2013) SAARC Plan of Action on Science and Technology was
finalized during the meeting. The Plan of Action identifies areas of (i) Cooperation in the field of
science and technology, (ii) Standardization and laboratory testing, (iii) Themes for cooperation, and
(iv) Project development. The Ministers also approved a number of short-term activities to be
carried out during the year 2009.

The second meeting of the Ministers of Science and Technology held in Colombo on 24 November,
2009. At this meeting, implementation of the SAARC Action Plan was reviewed and a number of short
term activities were approved for implementation. The Ministers expressed their firm commitment for
the prioritization of initiatives in Science and Technology in the region for a prosperous South Asia.

o. Security aspect
Regional cooperation in the areas security among the SAARC member states has seen significant
development. A good number of milestones have been achieved through successful coordination
among the SAARC member countries in the fields of drug and drug related crimes, terrorism and
police matters.

p. Drug and drug relate crimes

To fight drug and drug related crimes within the region, SAARC Coordination Group of Drug Law
Enforcement Agencies was established. The SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) was
established in Colombo in 1992 with a view to collating, analyzing and disseminating information on
drug related offences in the region.
Moreover, SAARC has adopted a convention on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. SAARC
Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was signed on 23 November, 1990. The
convention entered into force on 15 November 1993 following its ratification by all member states.

q. Terrorism
The SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) was established in Colombo in 1995. The
objectives of the Desk are to collate, analyse and disseminate information on terrorist offences, tactics,
strategies and methods.

The SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism which was signed on 4 November,
1987 came into force on 22 August, 1988 following its ratification by all Member States.

During the twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad on 4-6 January, 2004, the Council of Ministers
signed the Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism. The
purpose of this Additional Protocol is to strengthen the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression
of Terrorism, particularly by criminalizing the provision, collection or acquisition of funds for the
purpose of committing terrorist acts and taking further measures to prevent and suppress financing of
such acts. The Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism
came into force on 12 January, 2006 following its ratification by all Member States.

r. Police matters
A series of conferences have been held under the auspices of “SAARC Conference on Cooperation in
Police Matters.” In these conferences, participants have deliberated on a number of important matters
relating to networking arrangements among the police authorities in the Member States, Concept
Paper on the establishment of “SAARCPOL,” prevention of organized crimes, combating corruption,
drug abuse, drug trafficking and money laundering and training requirements of police officers and
networking among the police authorities.

Moreover, the SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (MACM) was signed
during the fifteenth SAARC summit held in Colombo in August, 2008.

s. Social development
Acceleration of social progress through active collaboration and mutual assistance amongst Member
States was a primary objective of SAARC. SAARC promotes social agenda in the region mainly
through cooperation in the following areas:
 Gender Related Issues
 Children
 Youth
 Health and population
 SAARC Social Charter

t. Tourism
Regional cooperation in tourism industry is one of the innovations of SAARC. The heads of states of
SAARC countries during the second summit held at Bangalore in 1986 underlined that concrete steps
should be taken to facilitate tourism in the region. A Technical Committee on Tourism was created in
1991. During the first meeting of the Technical Committee on Tourism held in Colombo in October,
1991, an Action Plan on Tourism was formulated. The twenty-fourth session of the Council of
Ministers held in Islamabad on 2-3 January, 2004, approved establishment of the Working Group on
Tourism.

The Working Group on Tourism prepared a Plan of Activities which includes promotion of SAARC as
a common tourist destination, to encourage private sector in promoting regional cooperation in
tourism, human resource development, promotion of South Asia identity through tourism, cultural
and eco-tourism development. The Working Group was authorized to periodically review
implementation of this Action Plan.

14. Achievements
1. SAFTA
A Free Trade Agreement confined to goods, but excluding all services like information
technology. Agreement was signed to reduce customs duties of all traded goods to zero by
the year 2016.

2. SAPTA
South Asia Preferential Trading Agreement for promoting trade amonst the member
countries came into effect in 1995.

3. SAARC visa exemption decided that certain categories of dignitaries should be entitled
to a Special Travel document, which would exempt them from visas within the region.

4. Greater cultural co-operation

5. Advantages of Least Developed Countries

It has provided forum for bilateral and regional agreements to the small poor nations for
collaboration among themselves for development.

15. Limitations
1. Domination of India
India has 70% area amongst all SAARC countries. Also remaining small countries does
not share border with each other’s except for Pakistan- Afghanistan.

2. Political differences
The political differences had deep negative impact on the political will to realize the
economic cooperation and integration.

3. Inequality among members

The member states except India have still not reached the take-off stage to be able to
pursue the program of economic integration and collaboration.

4. Large variety of cultural and regional differences.

5. SAARC charter excludes bilateral and contentious issues discussion on

forum

6. Obstructionist policies of Pakistan have created problems in economic

cooperation

7. No progress in road and rail connectivity which is obstacle for trade.

8. Most of the countries are poor except for India and lack full-fledged
democratic structure.
 9. Lack of financial resources and advance technology.
10. Involvement of external actors.
11. Internal problems.
12. Bilateral disputes and differences.
13. Suffer from acute resource crunch.

16. Conclusion
In the end it can be concluded that while SAARC has had a lot of significance,
a variety of internal issues have led to an undermining of its effectiveness and
performance. It is vital for the region that the organisation is strengthened.
Whatever the flaws of the SAARC so far may be, it is the only platform where
the local leaders meet and discuss issues of a region containing 1.6 billion
people. It is up to the SAARC leaders to work together for a developed,
peaceful and prosperous South Asia.

It is a high time that SAARC countries respect each other and strive for
developing peace and tranquillity in the region and give genuine tribute to the
principles of SAARC and implement a plan paving the way for
institutionalising south Asian economic union by 2010.this is needed to usher
in a new era of prosperity for the teeming millions of the above region.

17. Functions of SAARC

The main functions of SAARC have been mentioned below.

1. To maintain the co-operation in this region

2. To prevent the common problems
3. To ensure strong relationship among the SAARC country
4. To remove the poverty in this region permanently
5. To prevent the terrorism in this region.