SAARC Full Form

What is the full form of SAARC?

SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, is a political and intergovernmental organisation of eight countries in South Asia. The Eight countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It was established in 1985 with 7 countries. Afghanistan is the most recent country to join this organisation in 2007.

This Story also Contains

1. What is the full form of SAARC?
2. History of SAARC
3. Structure of SAARC
4. SAARC Objectives
5. Areas of Cooperation - SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)
6. Regional centres of SAARC :
7. Importance of SAARC for India

The Secretariat Office of the organisation is located in Kathmandu, Nepal which was built by late King Birendra Bir Bikram on 16 January 1987. The Current Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is Esala Ruwan Weerakoon of Sri Lanka, appointed on 01 March 2020. The 20th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit will be held this year in Islamabad, Pakistan.

History of SAARC

The idea of forming an oraganization was among the South Asian countries since 1947 at the conference held in Delhi, in 1950 at the conference held in the Philippines and in 1954 at the conference held in Sri Lanka. Finally, after several years the secretaries of all the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo, Sri Lanka in April 1981. The Organization was finally established on 8 December 1985 in Dhaka, Bangladesh by the Heads of State of Government of India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.The First Secretary General of SAARC was Abul Ahsan from Bangladesh.

Today, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) consists of 8 member states and 9 observer states. The 9 observer states are Australia, China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, the United States, Myanmar, and the Republic of Korea. Myanmar has also expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of SAARC. China has requested for joining SAARC. While Russia and Turkey have applied as an observer membership in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Structure of SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is divided into two parts - one is council and the other is council of ministers.

1) Council - The council consists of the government heads of the respective member countries.

2) Council of Ministers - The Council of Ministers is inclusive of all the Foreign Ministers or member countries.

Furthermore, There are three Committee’s in SAARC :

• Standing Committee

• Programming Committee

• Technical Committee

It also comprises the Secretariat, which is headed by the Secretary-general appointed by the Council of Ministers.

SAARC Objectives

The main objective of the organisation is to promote economic, social, and cultural development across South Asian countries.

The following are various objectives of this organisation :

• To co-operate with other developed and developing countries

• To co-operate themselves in international forms

• To co-operate with regional as well as international organisations.

• Better contribution to mutually understand each other’s problems.

• Improve the quality of people and welfare among themselves.

The Organization has even established new institutions such as South Asian University (SAU), SAARC Development Fund (SDF), and SAARC Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) which have diversified structures and mandates from the Regional Centers.

Areas of Cooperation - SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation cooperates over 10 areas, they are

• Human Resource Development

• Tourism

• Agriculture and Rural Development

• Environment, Natural Disasters

• Biotechnology

• Economic, Trade, and Finance

• Information and Poverty Alleviation

• Transport

• Energy, Science, and Technology

• Education, Security, and Culture

Regional centres of SAARC :

Since 1989, Five Regional Centres have been established to improve and strengthen regional cooperation with particular mandates.

• SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Dhaka

• SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Islamabad

• SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Colombo

• SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu

• SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India

1) SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Dhaka:

This centre was established in the year 1989 with the vision and mandate to provide relevant and universal access to knowledge resources for all the agricultural practitioners of the SAARC Member Countries.

2) SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Islamabad:

This centre was established in the year 2006 with the vision and mandate to envision as a catalyst for the economic growth and development of the South Asia region.

3)SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Colombo:

This centre was established in the year 2009 with the vision and mandate to improve

regional unity through cultural integration and intercultural dialogue and contribute in preservation and conservation.

4) SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu:

This centre was established in the year 1992 with the vision and mandate to prevent and control Tuberculosis (TB) in the South Asian region.

5) SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India:

This Centre was re-established again in the year 2016 with the vision and mandate to support state members in their disaster situations through science and technology.

Importance of SAARC for India

• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) links between South Asian Economies and Southeast Asian that further boosts economic power, development and integrity.

• With the help of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), India can engage with neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka in economic cooperation and development to dominate China.

• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) provides a platform to India to showcase its leadership and control in South Asia by taking up extra responsibilities.

• It also launched its satellite for South Asia in 2017.

Other Related Full Forms