The Tenth SAARC Summit (Colombo, 29–31 July 1998) decided to set up a Committee of Experts (COE) to draft a comprehensive treaty framework for creating a free trade area within the region, taking into consideration the asymmetries in development within the region and bearing in mind the need to fix realistic and achievable targets. • Non-interference in the internal matters is one of its objectives. [50] During the 12th and 13th SAARC summits, extreme emphasis was laid upon greater cooperation between the SAARC members to fight terrorism. But the intra-SAARC trade amounts to just a little over 1% of SAARC's GDP. The SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. The Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2006, and the Trade Liberalization Programme commenced from 1 July 2006. Similarly, foreign direct investment is also dismal. [14], Economic data is sourced from the International Monetary Fund, current as of December 2019, and is given in U.S. The uncaptured potential for intra-regional trade is therefore $14 billion per year, i.e., 68%.[59][60]. [11][12], Officially, the union was established in Dhaka with Kathmandu being the union's secretariat-general. ASEAN).[46]. "South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) | Treaties & Regimes | NTI", United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, "IMF Countries by Purchasing Power Parity 2019", "Net enrolment rate, primary, both sexes (%) - Data", "Gross enrollment ratio, secondary, both sexes (%) - Data", "Regional Overview of Food Insecurity: Asia and the Pacific", Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, "Afghanistan inducted as 8th member: 14th Saarc summit begins", South Asia: Afghanistan Joins World's Largest Regional Grouping, "Sri Lanka, 7 - 30 - 2008: Australia and Myanmar to admit as SAARC observers - Sri Lanka official", "SAARC to grant observer status to US, S Korea, EU, Waliur Rahman. 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. Principles. The SAARC also has about 18 recognized bodies.[49]. The centre also facilitates exchange of information and expertise for effective and efficient management of disaster risk. [9] Responding to Rahman and Birendra's convention, the officials of the foreign ministries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981. As directed by the Summit, the Council of Ministers regularly kept under review the list of entitled categories. BBC News, "Iran requests for observer status in SAARC", "SAARC and Myanmar: Observer Research Foundation", "Russia, Turkey seek observer status in SAARC", SAARC The Changing Dimensions: UNU-CRIS Working Papers United Nations University, "SAARC nations call for transparency in social sector", "Features | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers", "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — Apex and Recognised Bodies", "SAARCLAW — South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law", http://saarc-sec.org/saarc-recognized-bodies, "SAARC summit to be called off as Dhaka, Kabul and Thimphu too slam Islamabad", "Saarc summit collapses after India and three other members pull out", "Saarc summit in Pakistan postponed after member states pull out", "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — Area of Cooperation", "ADB urges Safta to exploit rich trade potential of member countries", "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme", "South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation — SAARC Award", Mahasweta Devi to get SAARC Literary Award, "Press Releases, 18th SAARC Summit Declaration, 27 November 2014", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Asian_Association_for_Regional_Cooperation&oldid=981561452, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO), SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC). The SAARC Member States have created the following Specialized Bodies of the SAARC in the Member States which have special mandates and structures different from the Regional Centers. Currently, the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include dignitaries, judges of higher courts, parliamentarians, senior officials, entrepreneurs, journalists, and athletes. [40][41][42] Turkey applied for observer status membership of SAARC in 2012. Cultural exchanges are taking place through film festivals, literary seminars, cultural festivals, media programmes and food festivals, etc. In 2005, Afghanistan began negotiating their accession to SAARC and formally applied for membership on the same year. [65] Shamshur Rahman, Mahasweta Devi, Jayanta Mahapatra, Abhi Subedi, Mark Tully, Sitakant Mahapatra, Uday Prakash, Suman Pokhrel and Abhay K are some of the prominent recipients of this award. Under this agreement, SAARC members will bring their duties down to 20 percent by 2009. Pakistan assumed that it might be an Indian strategy to organize the other South Asian countries against Pakistan and ensure a regional market for Indian products, thereby consolidating and further strengthening India's economic dominance in the region. "US and S Korea to observe SAARC." Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Director of the Centre acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee. The Committee for the SAARC Youth Award selects the best candidate based on his/her merits and their decision is final. Principles: The Article II of the SAARC Charter has spelled out the following principles: (i) Co-operation within the framework of Association shall be based upon the respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states and mutual benefit. The main aims of the SAARC Award are: The SAARC Award consists of a gold medal, a letter of citation, and cash prize of $25,000. Harvard Asia Quarterly Summer 2013, Vol. Meetings are held at the Summit level, usually on an annual basis. Lasting peace and prosperity in South Asia has been elusive because of the various ongoing conflicts in the region. The SAFTA Agreement was signed on 6 January 2004 during Twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad, Pakistan. [5] It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006. Principles of SAARC: The SAARC member nations are guided by the following principles: (i) Cooperation within the framework of the Association shall be based on respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in internal affairs of other states and mutual benefit. [6] The SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union. In contrast to SAARC, in ASEAN (which is actually smaller than SAARC in terms of the size of the economy) the intra-bloc trade stands at 10% of its GDP. Sovereignty vs. Security: SAARC and its Role in the Regional Security Architecture in South Asia. Myanmar has expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of the SAARC. The study by Asian Development Bank states that against the potential average SAARC intra-regional trade of $22 billion per year, the actual trade in South Asia has been only around $8 billion. [9] 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. These bodies are managed by their respective Governing Boards composed of representatives from all the Member States, the representative of H.E. [68], ༄ ལྷོ ཨེསིཨ་ རེ་གིཨོནལ་ ཅོཨོཔེརཏིཨོན་ ཀོ་མི་ཏི།, د سویلي اسیا لپاره د سیمه ایزی همکارۍ ټولنه, தெற்காசிய நாடுகளின் பிராந்தியக் கூட்டமைப்பு, See for this aspect Michael, Arndt (2013). The validity of the Visa Sticker is generally for one year. The SAFTA was envisaged to gradually move towards the South Asian Economic Union, but the current intra-regional trade and investment relation are not encouraging and it may be difficult to achieve this target. To encourage individuals and organizations based in South Asia to undertake programmes and activities that complement the efforts of the SAARC. [15], The member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Political dialogue is often conducted on the margins of SAARC meetings which have refrained from interfering in the internal matters of its member states. To encourage individuals and organizations in South Asia contributing to bettering the conditions of women and children. In the inaugural speech to the Colombo Plan Consultative Committee which met in Kathmandu also in 1977, King Birendra of Nepal gave a call for close regional cooperation among South Asian countries in sharing river waters. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.The SAARC comprises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 4.21% (US$3.67 trillion) of the global economy, as of … SAARC has gained lot of momentum in the fields of Education, Sports, Culture and media. South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC). After 31 December 2015, there 6 regional centers were stopped by unanimous decision. Eight Member States, i.e., Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected to be served by the SDMC (IU). Cooperation within the framework of the SAARC shall be based on: Respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and mutual benefit.