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South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
Prepared By: Umar Azam
Mubeen Mughal M. Hammad Shakil
Mohsin Sajjad Muhammad Awais Muhammad Hanif
INTRODUCTION
SAARC is an eco-political organization of 8 South Asian
nations, which was established on
8 December 1985 for friendship and cooperation
among themselves and with other developing countries.
Covering a population of more than 2 billion, SAARC is the largest regional organization in the world.
Origin of SAARC
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.
Its 7 founding members are : Sri Lanka, Bhutan , Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India
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.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
To promote welfare and quality of life of peoples of south Asia.
To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development .
Strengthen selective self-reliance among the countries of south Asia.
Understanding and appreciation of one another's problems.
Strengthen cooperation among themselves as well as with other developing countries and international and regional organizations
Maintain peace in the region.
MEMBERS &
OBSERVERS OF
CURRENT MEMBERS
1. Afghanistan ( joined in 2007 )
2. Bangladesh
3. Bhutan
4. India
5. Maldives
6. Nepal
7. Pakistan
8. Sri Lanka
OBSERVERS
1. Australia
2. China
3. European Union
4. Japan
5. Iran
6. Mauritius
7. Myanmar
8. S. Korea
9. USA
SAARC: Areas of
Cooperation
Areas of Co-Operation
▪ Agriculture & Biotechnology
▪ Trade & Finance
▪ Education
▪ Information , Communication & Media
▪ Science & Technology
▪ Energy & Environment
▪ Tourism & Social Development
▪ Culture
▪ People-to-People Contacts
Trade & Finance
▪ The acceleration of economic growth is a Charter objective of SAARC. Corporation in core areas of trade and finance b/w the SAARC members in 1991.
The following important processes of SAARC are promoting cooperation in the field of Trade, Economy
and Finance
▪ Customs Cooperation
▪ South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) (Custom Duties down to 20%)
▪ SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA)
POLITICAL ISSUES
The dispute over Kashmir’s accession to India has been standing in the way of the lasting peace and prosperity of the Indian subcontinent as well as SAARC.
Agreements &
Conventions of
SAARC
AGGREMENTS
Agreement for establishment of SAARC Arbitration Council
Final Agreement on Customs Matters
CHARTER OF SDF 31 July 2008
Agreement on establishing the SAARC food bank
Agreement on south Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)
Agreement on the Establishment of South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO)
Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation
CONVENTIONS
SAARC Convention on Combating and Prevention of Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution
The purpose of this Convention is to effectively deal with the various aspects of prevention and suppression of trafficking in women and children and to prevent the use of women and children prostitution networks.
Convention on Promotion of Welfare of Children
The purpose of this Convention is to promote cooperation amongst Member States so that they take effective steps for the welfare of children.
Convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters and Suppression of Terrorism
The States Parties shall provide widest possible measures of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, namely investigations, prosecution and resulting proceedings.
SAARC Convention Narcotics Drugs
Important steps have been taken to enforce the provisions of the Regional Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
SUMMITS And
MEETINGS
List of SAARC summits
▪ ¤ 1st Saarc Summit (Dhaka, December 8, 1985)
▪ ¤ 2nd Saarc Summit (Bangalore, November 17, 1986)
▪ ¤ 3rd Saarc Summit (Katmandu, November 4, 1987)
▪ ¤ 4th Saarc Summit (Islamabad, December 31, 1988)
▪ ¤ 5th Saarc Summit (Male', November 23, 1990)
▪ ¤ 6th Saarc Summit (Colombo, December 21, 1991)
▪ ¤ 7th Saarc Summit (Dhaka, April 11, 1993)
▪ ¤ 8th Saarc Summit (New Delhi, May 4, 1995)
¤ 9th Saarc Summit (Male', May 14, 1997)
¤ 10th Saarc Summit (Colombo, July 31, 1998)
¤ 11th Saarc Summit (Katmandu, January 6, 2002)
¤ 12th Saarc Summit (Islamabad, January 6, 2004)
¤ 13th Saarc Summit (Dhaka, November 13,2005)
¤ 14th Saarc Summit (New Delhi, April 3-4,2007)
¤ 15th Saarc Summit (Colombo, July 27 – August 4,2008)
¤ 16th Saarc Summit ( Thimpu, 28-29 April 2010)
MINISTERIAL MEETINGS
• Meetings held between the ministers of member states of various portfolios.
• More than 30 such meetings have been held.
Rawalpindi Resolution:
August 1996 Related to the issue of children rights. Declaration of safeguarding of rights of children to an
education plus curbing child labor.
Environment Ministers meeting: April 1997 Reaffirmation of goals of international conventions. Proposal for environmental safeguarding of South Asian
seas.
Commerce Minister’s Meeting:
May 1998. Held in Geneva right after the WTO ministerial meeting. Joint statement demanding the rights of developing nations.
Islamabad Declaration:
July 2005 Related to health issues. Agreement to setup Expert Group on Population to aide sharing
of expertise and experience related to population issues. Emphasis laid on achieving the MDGs and on allocating a larger
share of GDP on health related matters.
Cooperation in Counter Terrorism:
Colombo 2009. Ratification and implementation of SAARC
Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
Establishment of High Level Group of Eminent Experts.
Achievements
ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
1. SAPTA (SAARC preferential
trading arrangement) was signed
on 7 December, 1995
2. SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade
Area) was signed in Islamabad in
January 2004
3. SAARC chamber of commerce and
industry (SCCI)
4. SAARC constitutes South Asian
Development Fund (SADF)
5. Signed an agreement of mutual
assistance.
6. Avoidance of double taxation were
signed.
LITERACY & EDUCATION
▪ Establishment of a Common University for Education in Delhi, 2013
POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Regional food security essence
Promoted global objective of shelter for all.
TERRORISM & 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)
▪ SAARC drug offences monitoring desk (SDOMD)
PEOPLE TO PEOPLE CONTACT
The Second SAARC Summit (Bangalore, 1986) laid special emphasis on promoting people-to-people contact in the region and following are some initiatives in this regard:
• SAVE (SARRC Audio Visual Exchange) was implemented.
• SAARC Chairs, Fellowships and Scholarships Scheme
• SAARC Youth Volunteers Programme (SYVOP)
• Talks between countries leads to the diffusion of tension
In 2002, when tension between India & Pakistan was at peak, President Musharraf utilized the forum of SAARC to diffuse it.
Events organized by SAARC
Different Cultural, Sports, Awareness, Training Workshops related events are organized by SAARC
Different Cultural, Sports, Awareness, Training Workshops related events are organized by SAARC
SAARC Tele-medicine Project
The SAARC e-Network Tele-Medicine project is the initiative by the Government of India to provide specialist healthcare facilities and treatment to the people of all member SAARC countries and share its expertise in medical knowledge among doctors of the SAARC countries.
Pakistan’s role in SAARC
▪ Pakistan suggested that women participation in SAARC related
activities.
▪ Pakistan assembled ministerial level meeting on “ International economic
issues ” at Islamabad in May 1986.
▪ Pakistan has organized vast number of activities under the IPA for this
Pakistan doubled its share from 19100 tons in South Asian food security
resources.
Pakistan assigned highest priority to the eradication of
drugs abuse and drugs trafficking through effective
regional co-operation.
Pakistan is second largest contributor towards all SAARC
related activities as well as towards the budget of the
SAARC secretariat.
Failures of SAARC
SAARC is a ‘toothless tiger’ , more than anything else.
Dr. Siegfried O.Wolf,
Lecturer Pol. Science & Director research, South Asian Democratic Forum, a Brussels based think tank.
Factors responsible for SAARC failure
Political instability, Trust deficit & lack of social cohesion (Dr. Sigfried O. Wolf)
Bilateral relationships within the region & varying visions for the SAARC (Dr.
Sigfried O. Wolf)
▪ Observers often refer unsolvable Indo-Pak relations as main hurdle towards
regional integration in SAARC
▪ India tries to dominate the function and activities of SAARC
▪ Lack financial constraints & of political Co-Operation
Future of SAARC
IT depends upon the ability of member states to harmonize and accommodate their differing interests and attitudes an certain basic political, security and foreign policy issues, which does not seem to realizable in near future.
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