South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

Overview:

What is SAARC:

SAARC is a South Asian regional intergovernmental organization. The word SAARC is the acronym of "South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation". SAARC countries comprise approximately 3% of the world land area, 22% of the world population, and 4.5% of the global economy.

Establishment of SAARC:

SAARC was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka, Bangladesh on December 8, 1985, with the seven-member states. The first summit of SAARC was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In April 2007, Afganistan joined the SAARC as its eighth member state.

Members of SAARC:

Currently, SAARC comprises eight member states. Some other countries also participate in the SAARC summits as observer states. The SAARC observer countries are Australia, China, The European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea, and The United States.

SAARC Countries List:

Bangladesh	India
Sri-Lanka	Nepal

Afghanistan	Bhutan
Maldives	Pakistan

The Objectives of the SAARC:

The main aim of the SAARC countries is to cooperate in the Economic, Social, Technical, and scientific fields. In the SAARC annual summit, all the members take decisions unanimously. The bilateral and contentious issues are excluded from the deliberations of the association.

SAARC Headquarters:

The headquarters of the SAARC is situated in Kathmandu, Nepal. The headquarters of SAARC set up on 17th January 1987.

India and SAARC:

India is one of the founding members of the SAARC group. India sent SAARC satellite to facilitate other countries free of cost. The SAARC satellite provides information on weather, earthquake, tsunamis, etc. Pakistan is not part of the SAARC satellite program because Pakistan feels insecure due to Indian involvement. SAARC countries also trying to increase connectivity through rail, roads, and air corridors which will also enhance the trade between the SAARC countries.