Regional Economic Integration & their current practices Part -2

DR. ANITA RATHOD
Regional Economic Integration &
their current Practices
Dr. Anita Rathod, BBA (IB) Dept, ICCS.

Content -
 South Asian Association for Regional Co-
operation[SAARC] & their current Practices
 SAARC PreferentialTrading Arrangement
[SAPTA] & their current Practices

South Asian Association for
Regional Co-operation[SAARC]
The history of the SAARC
1947 - 1954
The idea of co-operation among South Asian Countries was
discussed in three conferences: the Asian Relations
Conference held in New Delhi in April 1947; the Baguio
Conference in the Philippines in May 1950; and
the Colombo Powers Conference held in Sri Lanka in April
1954.

1970
During 1970’s, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Srilanka agreed upon
1. The creation of a trade bloc
2. To provide a platform for the people of South Asia to work
together in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding.
3. President Ziaur Rahman addressed official letters to the
leaders of countries of South Asia, presenting his vision for
the future of the region and compelling arguments for
region.

1977
In 1977, In the Clombo plan consultative committee, King
Birendra of Nepal informed about close regional
cooperation among South Asian countries in sharing river
waters.
1979
In 1979, After USSR’s intervention in Afghanistan, union
established and resulting rapid deterioration of South
Asian Security situation.

1979 – 1980
After a series of diplomatic consultations headed by
Bangladesh between South Asian U.N. representatives at
the UN headquarters in New York, from September 1979 to
1980, it was agreed that Bangladesh would prepare the draft of
a working paper for discussion among the foreign secretaries of
South Asian countries. The foreign secretaries of the inner
seven countries again delegated a Committee of the Whole in
Colombo in September 1981, which identified five broad areas
for regional cooperation. New areas of co-operation were
added in the following years

1983
In 1983, the international conference held in Dhaka by its
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign ministers of
the inner seven countries adopted the Declaration on
South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
and formally launched the Integrated Program of Action
(IPA) initially in five agreed areas of cooperation namely,
Agriculture; Rural Development; Telecommunications;
Meteorology; and Health and Population Activities.

1985
Officially, the union was established
in Dhaka with Kathmandu being the union's secretariat-
general. The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka on
7–8 December 1985 and hosted by the President of
Bangladesh Hussain Ershad.The declaration signed by
King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuk, President of
Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq, Prime Minister of India Rajiv
Gandhi, King of Nepal Birendra Shah, President of Sri
Lanka JR Jayewardene, and President of
Maldives Maumoon Gayoom

1987
SAARC comprises of eight Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17
January 1987.
Decisions at all levels are to be taken on the basis of unanimity; and
bilateral and contentious issues are excluded from the deliberations of
the Association.

Vision & Mission
Vision
Peace and Unity through Culture
Mission
Bringing the people of South Asia together
to celebrate and exchange the cultural
heritage of the region and to strengthen the
relationship through sharing of the regional
dance, music, theatre, literature, cinema and
arts.

Reasons for the formation of SAARC

Objectives
a) To promote the welfare of the peoples of SOUTH ASIA and to improve their quality of life;
b) To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the
opportunity to live in dignity and to realise their full potentials;
c) To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of SOUTH ASIA;
d) To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems;
e) To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;
f) To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
g) To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests
h) To cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.

Current Members

Observers

SAARC Structure -
 Council of Ministers
 Standing Committee
 Programming Committee
 Technical Committees
 Working Groups
 Action Committees

Council of Ministers -
 Council of Ministers (CoM) comprises of the Ministers of Foreign /External Affairs of the Member States.
As provided in Article V of the Charter, the Council undertakes: formulation of policies of the
Association; review of progress of cooperation under SAARC; decision on new areas of cooperation;
establishment of additional mechanism under SAARC, as deemed necessary; and decision on other
matters of general interest to SAARC.
 The Council meets, preceding the Summit and between the two summits. The Council reviews the
progress of implementation of decisions taken by Summits. The reports of the Council of Ministers are
submitted to the Meeting of Heads of State or Government for consideration/approval.
 The Council has also been meeting informally, since 1997, on the sidelines of the United Nations
General Assembly Sessions in New York.

Standing Committee -
 The Standing Committee comprises of the Foreign Secretaries of the SAARC Member States. As
provided in Article V of the SAARC Charter, they take measures /decisions relating to: overall
monitoring and coordination of programme of cooepration under different areas; approval of projects
and programmes, including modalities of their financing; determination of inter-sectoral priorities;
mobilisation of regional and external resources; and identification of new areas of cooperation based
on appropriate studies.

 Standing Committee is mandated to meet as often as necessary. Generally, they have met preceding
the sessions of the Council of Ministers i.e. both during the Summit as also as the Council is convened
in between two Summits. That way, the Committee would be meeting at its thrity-seventh regular
session in Thimphu on 25-26 April 2010 (preceding the Council of Ministers and the Sixteenth
Summit). Depending on special requirement, Standing Committee has met at Special Sessions, on
stand-alone basis: till date, the Committee had held five such Special Sessions, the last (fifth) being in
Dhaka on 12 April 2006.

 The Committee reports to the Council of Ministers, on regular matters; and, as needed, asks for
specific decision on policy matters from the Council.

Programming Committee -
 The Programming Committee comprising of the Heads (JS/DG/Director)
of SAARC Divisions of Member States was set up by the Fifth Session of
the Standing Committee (Dhaka, 4 December 1985) to assist the
Standing Committee. The Fortieth Session of the Standing Committee
(Maldives, 19 February 2014) granted Charter Body status to the
Programming Committee.

 The Programming Committee considers the Calendar of Activities;
Administrative and Financial Matters of the Secretariat and Regional
Centres, Technical Committees, Working Groups, and Specialized
Bodies.

 The Programming Committee meets prior to the meetings of the Standing
Committee. The Programming Committee also meets as a stand-alone
session.

Technical Committees -
 Responsible for the implementation, coordination and monitoring of the programmes in
their respective areas of cooperation.
 To determining the pontential and the scope of regional cooperation in agreed areas,
Technical Committees are involved in formulation of programmes and preparation of
projects.
 Coordinate the implementaion of sectoral programmes and assess the implementation
regularly.
 The following Technical Committees work on their respective areas to provide support to
SAARC activities:
 Technical Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
 Technical Committee on Health and Population Activities
 Technical Committee on Women, Youth and Children
 Technical Committee on Science and Technology
 Technical Committee on Transport
 Technical Committee on Environment

WorkingGroups-
 Formulate and over see programmes and activities within the framework of
SAARC to strengthen and promote regional cooperation in their respective areas.
 The WGs coordinate, monitor and evaluate programmes in this regard.
 Propose mechanisms and sources of finance to implement them.
 Following WGs meet regularly to provide inputs on their respective areas of co-
operation:
 Working Group on Biotechnology
 Working Group on Energy
 Working Group on Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
 Working Group on Tourism


ActionCommittees-
 The Standing Committee sets up Action
Committees comprising Member States concerned
with the implementation of projects involving more
than two but not all Member States.

Areas of Cooperation

The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16
January 1987 and was inaugurated by the late King Birendra Bir
Bikram Shah of Nepal.
Specialized Bodies
Secretariat
Specialized Body Location Country Website
SAARCArbitration Council
(SARCO)
Islamabad Pakistan www.sarco-sec.org
SAARC Development Fund
(SDF)
Thimphu Bhutan www.sdfsec.org
South Asian University (SAU) New Delhi India www.sau.int
South Asian Regional Standards
Organization (SARSO)
Dhaka
Banglades
h
www.sarso.org.bd

Regional Centres
Regional Centre Location Country
SAARCAgricultural Centre (SAC) Dhaka Bangladesh
SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC) Dhaka Bangladesh
SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC) Thimphu Bhutan
SAARC Development Fund (SDF) Thimphu Bhutan
SAARC DocumentationCentre (SDC) New Delhi India
SAARC Disaster ManagementCentre (SDMC) Gandhinagar India
SAARCCoastal Zone ManagementCentre (SCZMC) Malé Maldives
SAARC Information Centre (SIC) Kathmandu Nepal
SAARCTuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC) Kathmandu Nepal
SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC) Islamabad Pakistan
SAARC Energy Centre (SEC) Islamabad Pakistan
SAARCCultural Centre (SCC) Colombo Sri Lanka

ExternalRelations
 Relations with Observers
 Relations with Partners with MoUs
 Relations with Partners without MoUs

Relations with Observers
 There are currently nine Observers to SAARC, namely: (i) Australia; (ii) China; (iii) the
European Union; (iv) Iran; (v) Japan; (vi) the Republic of Korea; (vii) Mauritius; (viii)
Myanmar; and (ix) the United States of America.
 There is a moratorium on the admission of new Observers to SAARC at present. Observers
are invited to participate in the inaugural and closing Sessions of SAARC Summits.
 Member States have decided to engage the SAARC Observers into productive, demand-
driven and objective project based cooperation in priority areas as identified by the Member
States, i.e. (Communication (ii) Connectivity (iii)Agriculture (iv) Public Health (v) Energy (vi)
Environment and (vii) Economic Cooperation.
 Joint Meeting of Observers and National Focal Points (Ministries of Foreign Affairs) will
finalize the projects based on proposals from Member States and Observers.

Relations with Partners with MoUs
1. Asian Development Bank (ADB)
2. Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC)
3. Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT)
4. Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
5. Centre for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP)
6. Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
7. European Commission (EC)
8. Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
9. Government of Japan (JICA, JENESYS-2018)
10. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development & International Development Association
11. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
12. National Metrology Institute of the Federal Republic of Germany (PTB)
13. South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP)
14. UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
15. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
16. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
17. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
18. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
19. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
20. United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP)
21. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR)
22. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
23. UN Women
24. World Health Organization (WHO)
25. World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)

Relations with Partners without MoUs
1. Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)
2. International Co-op Alliance – Asia & Pacific (ICA – AP)
3. International Organization for Migration (IOM)
4. Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
5. United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
6. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
7. United States Forest Service (USFS)
8. United Nations Office for Coordination on Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
9. Universal Postal Union (UPU)/Asia Pacific Postal Union (APPU)
10. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The South Asian Free Trade Area
(SAFTA)

Statistical Analysis -

FrameworkAgreement
 Motivated by the commitment to strengthen intra-SAARC economic cooperation to maximise the realization of the
region’s potential for trade and development for the benefit of their people, in a spirit of mutual accommodation, with
full respect for the principles of sovereign equality, independence and territorial integrity of all States;
 Noting that the Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) signed in Dhaka on the 11 th of
April 1993 provides for the adoption of various instruments of trade liberalization on a preferential basis;
 Convinced that preferential trading arrangements among SAARC Member States will act as a stimulus to the
strengthening of national and SAARC economic resilience, and the development of the national economies of the
Contracting States by expanding investment and production opportunities, trade, and foreign exchange earnings as
well as the development of economic and technological cooperation;
 Aware that a number of regions are entering into such arrangements to enhance trade through the free movement
of goods;
 Recognizing that Least Developed Countries in the region need to be accorded special and differential treatment
commensurate with their development needs; and
 Recognizing that it is necessary to progress beyond a Preferential Trading Arrangement to move towards higher
levels of trade and economic cooperation in the region by removing barriers to cross-border flow of goods;

Current Affairs -
 “Zero duty imports of Nepal tea cannot be
stopped under SAFTA. What is required is
more stringent checking by the
administration so that cheap quality
Nepal teas do not reach the consumers in
the name of Darjeeling tea,” Kaushik
Basu, secretary, Darjeeling Tea
Association, told ET.
 A geo-political crisis in the western
neighbourhood could turn the heat on in
the Indian kitchen as supply of aromatic
asafoetida, a particular variety of cumin
used in ‘biryani’, dry fruits including
figs, apricots and green and black
raisins has been halted suddenly.

References -
 https://www.saarc-sec.org/
 http://www.doc.gov.lk/index.php?option=co
m_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=181
&lang=en

Regional Economic Integration & their current practices Part -2

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