SAARC

• The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
• The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987.

Members

• 8 Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• Afghanistan joined as the 8th member of SAARC in 2007. 
• Nine Observer States: China (2005), the US (2007) , Myanmar, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mauritius and the European Union.

Objectives 

The objectives of the Association as outlined in the SAARC Charter are:

• to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life
• 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 realize their full potentials
• to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia
• to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another’s problems
• to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields
• to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries
• to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests
• and to cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.

SAARC institutions

• SAARC Arbitration Council (SARCO) (2007)
• South Asian University (SAU) (2007)
• SAARC Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) (2011)
• SAARC Development Fund (2005)

 Regional Centres

• SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Dhaka
• SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Islamabad
• SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Srilanka
• SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu
• SAARC Disaster Management Centre, India

Recent Developments

• The 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu in 2014 concluded with the adoption of the SAARC Declaration. The Declaration recognizes labour migration as an issue in need of collective action. Article 21 states that SAARC countries agree to collaborate to ensure the protection of migrant workers from South Asia.
• During the Summit, SAARC leaders also called for authorities to tackle and prevent the trafficking in women and children.
• In regards to the Post-2015 Development Agenda, participating countries aim to initiate an inter-governmental process to appropriately contextualize the Sustainable Development Goals at the regional level.

SAARC Summits

• Nineteenth summit 19th – Pakistan (2016)
• Summits in India – 14^th Summit (2007), 8^th (1995), 2^nd (1986)