3. 0verview
• Introduction
• History
• Principles
• Objectives
• Areas of Cooperation
• SAARC Specialized Bodies
• Contribution
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4. Introduction
• SAARC(South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) is the
regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of
states in South Asia.
• SAARC Headquarter and Secretariat is based in Kathmandu ,Nepal
• Its member states are Afghanistan , Pakistan ,India ,Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh ,Bhutan and Maldives.
• H.E. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon is the present general secretary of the
SAARC
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5. • The SAARC comprises 3% of the worlds area ,21% population and
4.21% (about 3.67$) of the global economy as of 2019.
• 7 country including Bangladesh , India , Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka ,
Maldives and Bhutan are the Founder of the SAARC and
Afghanistan is later included in 2005.
• The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka 0n 7-8 December 1985.
• The last(19th) SAARC summit ,which was proposed to be held in
Islamabad was cancelled.
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6. History
• Idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was discussed in at least
three conferences
1-The Asians Relations Conference in New Delhi in April 1947.
2-The Baguio Conference in the Philippines in May 1950,
3-The Colombo Powers Conference in April 1954
• The first concrete proposal for establishing a framework for regional
cooperation in South Asia was made by the late president of
Bangladesh, Zia-ur-Rehman, on May 2, 1980.
• Established on 8 December 1985.
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7. Principles
• Respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, political equality
and independence of all members states.
• Non-interference in the internal matters.
• Cooperation for mutual benefit.
• All decisions to be taken unanimously.
• All bilateral issues to be kept aside and only multilateral issues
to be discussed.
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8. SAARC Objectives
• SAARC has been formed to solve the common problem of the countries of
South Asia. The major objectives of SAARC includes,
To quicken the economic growth, social progress, and cultural
development.
To develop the welfare of the people of the South Asia to promote their
quality of life.
To promotes towards mutual trust ,understanding and appreciation of the
problems of one another.
To make the self-reliance among the SAARC countries.
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9. ……continue
To contribute to an international and regional organization with
similar aims and objectives
To develop active participation and mutual assistance in the
economic , social , Health, cultural, technical, and scientific field
To make strong cooperation among themselves in international
forums in matters of common interest.
The major objectives of SAARC is to make the SAARC as a Free Trade
Zone and eliminate the poverty and nutritional insecurity from this
region.
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10. Areas of Co-operation
• Human Resource Development and Tourism.
• Agriculture and Rural Development.
• Environment , Natural Disaster and Biotechnology.
• Economic , Trade and Finance.
• Social Affairs.
• Information and Poverty Alleviation.
• Energy , Transport ,Science and Technology.
• Education security and Culture and Others.
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11. SAARC Specialized Bodies
SAARC Development Fund(SDF)
The primary objectives of the SDF is funding of the project-based
collaboration in social sectors such as poverty alleviation ,
development etc.
SAARC Arbitration Council
it is an intergovernmental body mandated to provide legal
framework/forum within the region for fair and efficient settlement
of commercial ,industrial, trade ,banking and investment.
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12. South Asian Regional Standards Organization
It was established to achieve and enhance coordination and
cooperation among SAARC member states in the field of
standardization and conformity assessment and is aimed to develop
harmonized standards for region to facilitate intra-regional trade and
to have access in the global market.
South Asian University
It is an international university located in India. It provide scholarship
opportunity to the student of the region.
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13. Contribution of SAARC
ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
• SAPTA(SAARC preferential trading arrangement)was signed on 7
December, 1995.
• SAFTA(South Asian Free Trade Area) was signed in Islamabad in January
2004 .
• SAARC chamber of commerce and industry (SCCI).
• SAARC constitutes South Asian Development Fund(SADF) .
• Signed an agreement of mutual assistance.
• Avoidance of double taxation were signed.
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14. INTEGRATED PROGRAMME OF ACTION (IPA)
• Agriculture
• Rural development
• Science and technology
• Health
• Transport
• Sports
• Arts
• Culture and
• Population activities
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15. LITERACY AND EDUCATION
• Established a common university for education in Delhi
POVERTY ALLEVIATION
• Regional food security essence
• Promoted global objective of shelter for all.
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16. TERRORISM AND DRUG TRAFFICKING
• Convention on terrorism was signed in November,1987
• SAARC convention on narcotic drugs signed on
November, 1990 .
• SAARC terrorist offences monitoring desk(STOMD) .
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17. Contribution in health sector
SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC)
• Established in Thimi,Bhaktapur in 1994 with the vision of “AIDS-free
generation in SAARC region”.
• the Center is working for prevention and control of TB and HIV/AIDS in
SAARC region.
• STAC has provided a common platform for regional and international
experts to discuss, share ideas and seek solutions to TB, HIV/AIDS and
other respiratory diseases. .
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18. Agriculture and well-being
• 18th SAARC Summit, agreed to increase investment, promote research and
development, facilitate technical cooperation in agriculture.
• SAARC recognize agriculture is the best way to improve livelihood and
nutritional security that improve the well-being of people.
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19. Poverty Alleviation
• Poverty continues to remain a formidable common challenge in South
Asia.
• The region is still characterized as a pocket of global poverty.
• The leaders of SAARC expressed their strong commitment to realize
poverty-free South Asia ever since the first SAARC Summit.
• At the 18th SAARC Summit, they directed Ministerial and Secretary-level
mechanisms on poverty alleviation to achieve the SDGs.
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20. Cooperation in public health
• It ensures visibility of SAARC at people’s level. SAARC Member States have ample
ground to work on common issues and challenges of public health.
• The leaders in the 18th SAARC Summit recognized the importance of universal
health coverage, preparedness for emerging and re-emerging diseases, and
challenges posed by anti-microbial resistance and NCDs.
• It was agreed to establish mechanisms to share experiences on development of
human resources for health, ensuring accessibility, equity and quality of health
care; and share experiences on best practices adopted on health issues.
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21. Covid-19 emergency fund
• In order to combat COVID-19 in the region, Prime Minister of
India proposed creation of a COVID-19 emergency fund based
on voluntary contributions from all the SAARC member
countries. The fund can be used by any of the partner
countries to meet the cost of immediate actions.
• Announcement of covid-19 emergency fund
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22. • Contributions by Member Countries (As on date 14-04-2020)
Sr. No. Country Contribution
1 Afghanistan USD 1,000,000
2 Bangladesh USD 1,500,000
3 Bhutan USD 100,000
4 India USD 10,000,000
5 Maldives USD 200,000
6 Nepal NPR 100,000,000 (USD 831,393.45)
7 Pakistan USD 3,000,000
8 Sri Lanka USD 5,000,000
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SAAPTA:-The SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) reflected the desire of the Member States to promote and sustain mutual trade and economic cooperation within the SAARC region through the exchange of tariff concessions.
SAFTA:-The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is the free trade arrangement of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The agreement came into force in 2006, succeeding the 1993 SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement.
Initially established as TB control but later in 2007 it renamed as STAC.
