by Saarc Countries List 2023 – The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Originally, SAARC had seven members. But at the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005, Afghanistan’s membership in SAARC was finalized. There are currently 8 members in the SAARC organization namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Initially, SAARC had 7 members. Afghanistan became the 8th member of the SAARC organization at the November 2005 conference in Dhaka. There are currently 8 members in the SAARC organization including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC members account for 21% of the world’s population, 3% of the world’s land area, and 3.8% ($2.9 trillion) of global trade, as of 2015. The center’s Ministry of Commerce was inaugurated on January 17. Established in Kathmandu in 1987. There have been 13 SAARC Secretaries General since 1985 till date. Only two Indians, namely Kant Kishore Bhargava and Sheel Kant Sharma, are the only Indians to have served as Secretary General of SAARC. Now let’s look at the general list of SAARC; Name Country Tenure 1. Abul Ahsan Bangladesh January 16, 1985 to October 15, 1989 2. Kant Kishore Bhargava India October 17, 1989 to December 31, 1991 3. Ibrahim Hussein Zaki Maldives January 1, 1992 to January 13, 1995 5 . Naeem U. Hasan Pakistan January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998 6. Nihal Rodrigo Sri Lanka January 1, 1999 to January 10, 2002 7. QAMA Rahim Bangladesh January 11, 2002 to February 2020 Hub 25 , 2002 to February 29, 2002 2008 9. Sheel Kant Sharma India March 1, 2008 to February 28, 2011 10. Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed Maldives March 1, 2011 to March 11, 2012 11. 2. 2. Ahmed, March 24, 2014 to March 28, 2014 Saleem. February 2017 13. Amjad Hussain B Sial Pakistan 1 March 2017 to Present From the above, Abul Ahsan of Bangladesh is the first Secretary of SAARC. Of the 8 members of SAARC; Maldives is the only country where 3 people have been the Secretary of SAARC. List of ASEAN members
Saarc Countries List 2023
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Saarc Charter Day 2022: 8th December
This website uses cookies or similar technologies to improve your browsing experience and provide personalized recommendations. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our privacy policy and cookie policy. OK Relations between India and its neighbors are important in the UPSC Civil Services GS Paper II exam. As for other countries, relations with neighboring countries are now important to India’s foreign affairs. SAARC or South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was established on December 8, 1985 in Dhaka by signing the SAARC Charter. It was founded with the vision of achieving regional development and prosperity through regional cooperation and peace. The SAARC Secretariat was established 2 years later in Kathmandu. However, India’s relations with its neighbors in the SAARC region were less so.
India is located in one of the most problematic areas of the world. South Asia’s growth rates have been compared to some of the worst in the world. SAARC has 23% of the world’s population but only 6% of purchases, 2% of trade and 3% of FDI. Only with the development of the entire region will all countries be able to grow freely.
Regional cooperation is needed to solve all these problems. Therefore, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in Dhaka in 1985 with a secretariat in Kathmandu.
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SAARC comprising India and its neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives has the following main objectives:
Despite ambitious goals that could transform the region, SAARC has failed as a regional grouping.
The list of failures of SAARC as a regional cooperation organization is still long compared to other good regional organizations like the Eurozone or ASEAN. Some of the major failures are:
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For any progress of the future leaders of the region, it is important to know the reason behind the failure of SAARC.
Most of India’s neighboring countries treat it badly, except Bhutan. The friendship of some countries depends on the governance of those countries. For example, the BNP government led by Khaleda Zia was brutal, while the current Awami League government was cooperative. Similar cyclical changes occur in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Nepal depends on India for its survival because India is the only way to supply important goods, but some policies in Nepal are suspiciously played by China. Pakistan introduced an anti-India policy. India has good relations with Afghanistan as it has invested heavily in its development. But with the US withdrawing from Afghan soil and the Taliban trying to make a comeback, that could change.
India’s neighbors are jealous and suspicious of India’s size, economy and influence in the region. They refuse to cooperate with India on regional security and economic development.
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One of the biggest reasons for the failure of SAARC is Pakistan’s inability to take any initiative or help resolve the Kashmir issue. Pakistan is being milked by its military for the personal interests of its leaders. As long as the Kashmir issue is alive, Pakistani citizens can be deceived and the lion’s share of the budget will continue to go to the military. So Pakistan’s goal is not even a resolution on Kashmir. Therefore, the realization of the SAARC mega project seems almost impossible, at least for now.
The Narendra Modi government has recently given another shot at good relations with Pakistan. He visited Pakistan, spoke to leaders and even authorized a joint investigation into the Pathankot terror site. But the Pakistani army, which does not want normalization, has organized a series of violent attacks on Indian soil.
In such a situation, India and other SAARC countries began to consider the possibility of cooperation without Pakistan. India is exploring the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), similar to SAARC without Pakistan. The pilot agreement has already been signed by BBIN members (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal). Both BBIN and BIMSTEC can accelerate trade integration and regional development through facilitation. In that case SAARC should become obsolete.
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SAARC is yet to achieve much success in its 36 years of existence. However, we have seen how long it took the European Union to improve. The European Economic Union was founded in 1957 and took 35 years to become the EU through the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. It seems impossible for the world to imagine Europe coming together and opening its borders after World War II. So there was a big change.
In SAARC, the main change needed is to create a real democracy in Pakistan that can shrink the military. Other South Asian countries should put aside their insecurities and conflicts and follow the spirit of the SAARC mission. India will have to take the lead by showing greatness and helping its neighbors catch up with their economic growth. To counter China’s regional dominance, India needs to accelerate its economic growth. Neighbors must know that China is a terrorist and their biggest threat is fake debts.
India cannot distance itself from the politics of local communities because it directly affects them. The rise of Wahhabism and Salafism, with its tendency to seize power in an undemocratic manner, has affected the entire region. Due to the diversity of the South Asian population, any social policy that harms any section of the society will go to India. For example, the violence in West Bengal and Assam in 1971 and the Tamil crisis during the rise of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Therefore, he has to help the neighbors without looking like a big brother. If there is good governance throughout the region, SAARC can be better.
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Finally, it must be admitted that India has tried its best to restore SAARC again and again. Be it Gujral doctrine, Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangla bus service, provision of SAARC satellite and space cooperation or SAARC COVID-19 initiative. This is when the little neighbors decided whether to stay close to India or not. SAARC may also be revived even as Pakistan sulks over the Kashmir issue. Leave the area together, with or
