SAARC ( South Asian Association Regional Cooperation )

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Project Report on SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)

In partial fulfilment of requirement for the

Award of Degree of M.Com

Subject:

Economics Of Global Trade & Finance

Submitted By:

Mr. Hitesh Rohra

Roll No. 25

M.Com. Part – I, Semester - I

Under the Guidance of:

Prof. Mr. Shyam Leelani

SMT. CHANDIBAI HIMATHMAL MANSUKHANI COLLEGE

ULHASNAGAR – 421003

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

2014 – 2015

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This is to certify that, Mr. Hitesh Rohra of M.Com Part – I, has successfully

completed the project in Economics Of Global Trade And Finance titled

“SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) ” under my

guidance for the academic year 2014-15. The information submitted is true

and original as per my knowledge.

Mr. Shyam Lilani

(Internal Guide)

Prof. Gopi Shamnani Dr. Padma V.

(Coordinator, M.Com) Deshmukh (I/C Principal)

________________

External Examiner

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DDEECCLLAARRAATTIIOONN

I, Mr. Hitesh Rohra student of SMT. CHANDIBAI HIMATMAL

MANSUKHANI COLLEGE, ULHASNAGAR studying in M.Com Part – I,

Semester – I, hereby declare that I have completed this project on “SAARC

(South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation)” for the subject

“Economics Of Global Trade & Finance” in the academic year 2014-

15.The information submitted is true and original to the best of my

knowledge.

_______________

Mr. Hitesh Rohra

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ACKNOWLEGEMENT

To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so

numerous and the depth is so enormous.

I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic

channels and fresh dimensions in the completion of this project

I take this opportunity to thank the University of Mumbai

forgiving me chance to do this project.

I would like thank my Principal, Dr. Padma V. Deshmukh for

providing the necessary facilities required for completion of this

project.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my

project guide Prof. Mr. Shyam Lilani whose guidance and

care made the project successful.

I would like to thank my college library, for having provided

Various reference books and magazines related to my project.

Lastly I would like to thank each & every person who directly or

indirectly helped me in completion of the project especially my

parents & peers who supported me throughout my project.

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Executive Summary

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) consisting

of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

was launched in the first Summit of the Heads of the Governments and

States in 1985. Afghanistan is now the eight member state included in

the SAARC forum since its 14th Summit in 2007. Though the SAARC

started a large number of diverse programme on a regional basis.

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CONTENTS

S.No. Topic Page No

1 Introduction 07

2 Members & Observers Of SAARC 11

3 Organizational Structure Of SAARC 13

4 SAARC Areas Of Co-Operation 22

5 Agreements, Declarations & Conventions

OF SAARC

26

6 Summits & Meetings 31

7 Success & Failures 41

8 Conclusion 51

9 References/Biblography 53

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INTRODUCTION OF SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

was established when its Charter was formally adopted on

December 8, 1985 by the Heads of State or Government of

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri

Lanka.

SAARC provides a platform for the peoples of South Asia to work

together in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding. It aims

to accelerate the process of economic and social development in

Member States.

SAARC is an eco-political organization of 8

South Asian nations, which was established

on 8th

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.

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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.

Its seven founding members are Sri Lanka,

Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan,

and Bangladesh.

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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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AIMS and OBJECTIVES

Welfare of the people of south Asia.

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

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Members And

Observers Of SAARC

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CURRENT MEMBERS

1. Afghanistan

( joined the organization in 2007)

2. Bangladesh

3. Bhutan

4. India

5. Maldives

6. Nepal

7. Pakistan

8. Sri Lanka

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OBSERVERS

1.Australia

2.China

3.European Union

4.Japan

5.Iran

6.Mauritius

7.Myanmar

8.S. Korea

9.USA

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POTENTIAL FUTURE MEMBERS

• Myanmar has expressed interest in

upgrading it's status from an observer

to a full member of SAARC.

• Russia has expressed interest in

becoming an observer of SAARC.

OTHERS

South Africa has participated in

meetings.

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Organizational Structure of

SAARC

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COUNCIL

At the top, there is the Council represented

by the heads of the government of the

member countries. The council is the apex

policy making body. It meets once in 2

years time.

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COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

** It is to assist the council. It is

represented by the foreign ministers of the

member countries. Its functions include:

• Formulation of policies

• Review of functioning

• Deciding new areas of cooperation

• Chalk out additional mechanism

• Decide about general issues of common

interests of the SAARC members.

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STANDING COMMITTEE

** It is comprised by the foreign

secretarian of the member government. Its

major functions are:

• To monitor and co-ordinate the

programmes

• To determine inter-sectored priorities

• To mobilize cooperation within and

outside the region

• To deal with the modalities of

financing.

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PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE

** It consist of the senior official of the

member governments. Its functions

include:

• Scrutinizing the budget of the

secretariat

• Finalizing the annual schedule

• External activities assigned by the

standing Committee

Analyses the respects of

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TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

**It consist of the represented of the

member nations. Its function are:

• To formulate project and programmes

• To monitor and execute the projects

• To submit reports.

• Cover Areas like Agriculture,

Communication, Environment, Rural

Development, Health and Population,

Science and Technology, Tourism and

Transport

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SECRETARIAT

** The SAARC secretariat is located in

Nepal. The secretariat is headed by the

secretary-General appointed by the Council

of Ministers. Its function include:

• Coordination, execution and monitoring

of SAARC activities

• Servicing the SAARC meetings

• Works as communication link between

the SAARC and other international

forums.

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SAARC

Areas of Cooperation

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• Agriculture & Biotechnology

• Trade & Finance

• Education

• Information , Communication & Media

• Science & Technology

• Energy & Environment

• Tourism & Social Development

• Culture

People-to-People Contacts

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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)

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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.

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Agreements,

Declarations

AND

Conventions

OF

SAARC

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AGGREMENTS

Agreement for establishment of SAARC

Arbitration Council

Final Agreement on Avoidance of Double

Taxation

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

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DECLARATIONS

• Ministerial Declaration on Global Economic

Crisis

• Colombo Statement on Children of South

Asia

• Declaration on Cooperation in Combating

Terrorism

• Islamabad Declaration on Health, 2005

• Colombo Declaration on a Common

Environment Program

• Common Position on Climate Change, Nov.

1998

• Rawalpindi Resolution on Children of South

Asia, Aug. 1996

• New Delhi Declaration of Environment

Ministers, Apr, 1997

• Declaration of Commerce Ministers May

1998

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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.

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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.

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SUMMITS

AND

MEETINGS

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SUMMITS

1st

Summit (Dec 1985):

Venue: Dhaka

• Reaffirmation of the UN Charter and respect

for each other’s sovereignty.

• Concern over the global economic crisis.

• Declaration of belief in the objectives and

the continued relevance of the Non Aligned

Movement.

• Expression of concern over the poverty in

the SAARC region and commitment to

improving social and economic conditions

2nd

Summit (1986):

Venue: Bangalore

• Rehash of the goals and statements of the

first summit.

• Strengthening of ties between member

states.

• Condemned terrorism.

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3rd

Summit (1987):

Venue: Kathmandu

• Decision to initiate study of natural disasters

and its after-effects.

• Expression of satisfaction over progress in

implementation of IPA.

• Call for increased people to people contact

and greater NGOs participation.

4th

Summit (1988)

Venue: Islamabad

• Expression of outrage over attempted coup

in Maldives and declaration of support to her

government.

• 1989 declared as the “SAARC Year Against

Drug Abuse.”

• 1990 declared as the "SAARC Year of the

Girl Child".

• Launch of "SAARC-2000-A Basic Needs

Perspective".

5th

Summit (1990):

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Venue: Male

• Decision to build the SAARC Tuberculosis

Centre and the SAARC Documentation

Centre in Bangladesh and India respectively.

• Declaration of the period 1991-2000 as the

“Decade of the girl child”.

6th

Summit (1991):

Venue: Colombo.

• Decision to establish an independent South

Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation.

• Approval for the Inter Governmental Group

to be set up.

7th

Summit (1993):

Venue: Dhaka

• Commitment to end poverty in South Asia by

2002 through a set of strategies known as

the “Agenda of Actions.”

• Appreciation for the first ever South Asian

festival of SAARC Countries held in 1992.

The festival promoted culture.

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8th

Summit (1995):

Venue: Delhi

• 1994 marked as the SAARC Year of Youth.

• 1996 marked as the SAARC Year of Literacy.

9th

Summit (1997):

Venue: Male

• 1997 designated the "SAARC Year of

Participatory Governance" .

• Agreement to study the social compulsions

that lead to child labour.

10th

Summit (1998):

Venue: Colombo

• Decision to setup a committee of experts to

aide in the formulation of SAFTA.

• Directive for the formulation of SAARC’s

social charter issued.

11th

Summit (2002):

Venue: Kathmandu

12th

Summit (2004):

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Venue: Islamabad

13th

Summit (2005):

Venue: Dhaka

• 2006-2015 declared as the “Decade of

Poverty Alleviation”.

• Agreements signed related to customs

assistance, arbitration and tax assistance.

14th

Summit (2007):

Venue: Dehli

• SAARC Agenda for Culture launched.

• South Asian university to be established in

India.

15th

Summit (2008):

Venue: Colombo.

16th

Summit(2010):

Venue: Thimpu

• Agreement to form the South Asia Forum.

17th

Summit (2011):

Venue: Addu Citty

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• Declarations and endorsements.

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

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• 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.

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• 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.

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Sucesses

and

Failures

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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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INTEGRATED PROGRAMME OF ACTION

(IPA)

• Agriculture

• Rural development

• Science and technology

• Health

• Transport

• Sports

• Arts

• Culture and

• Population activities

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LITERACY AND EDUCATION

• Till 2013 going to establish a common

university for education in Delhi

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Regional food security essence

Promoted global objective of shelter for

all.

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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)

• SAARC drug offences monitoring

desk(SDOMD)

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PEOPLE TO PEOPLE CONTACT

• SAVE (SARRC Audio Visual Exchange)

was implemented.

• Library of SAARC

• Talks between countries leads to the

diffusion of tension

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FALIURES OF SAARC

• India tries to dominate the function and

activities of SAARC

• Large variety of different political system

• Large variety regional and cultural

differences

• They lack financial resources and advance

technologies

• Involvement of external actor

• Internal problems constituting social

economic and developmental and

growth issues.

• Bilateral disputes and differences

• Food Security Reserve failed to meet

the need of Bangladesh

• Suffers from an acute resource crunch

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Conclusion

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• The Heads of State or Government

expressed their deep satisfaction over the

positive outcome of the Seventh SAARC

Summit and expressed their conviction that

this Summit would greatly contribute

towards strengthening the policies and

cooperative actions of the Member States in

response to the challenges of the 1990s and

beyond in areas where SAARC has a distinct

contribution to make. They also reiterated

once again their determination to strengthen

and enrich SAARC as an instrument -

endowing it with a clear set of forward

looking goals and objectives as well as all

the requisite institutional capacities - so

that it can continue to work to enrich not

only the lives of its own members but also

promote peace, progress and stability in

South Asia in a larger context .

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Biblography

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• "Nepal’s Arjun Bahadur Thapa is SAARC’s

new Secretary General". IANS.

news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 3 March

2014.

• Jump up^ "Mohamed Ibrahim

GhafooriI[sic]". SAARC. Retrieved 27 August

2014.

• Jump up^ "MJH Jabed". SAARC. Retrieved

27 August 2014.

• Jump up^ "Singye Dorjee". SAARC. Retrieved

27 August 2014.

• Jump up^ "L. Savithri". SAARC. Retrieved 27

August 2014.

• Jump up^ "South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation : Home". SAARC.

Retrieved 27 August 2014.[citation needed]

• Jump up^ SAARC. "Dhan Bahadur Oli".

Retrieved 27 August 2014.

• Jump up^ SAARC. "Ahmar Ismail". Retrieved

27 August 2014