SAARC:

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established when its Charter was formally adopted on 8 December 1985 by the Heads of State  or Government  of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The Association provides a platform  for the peoples of South Asia to work together  in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding. It aims to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life through accelerated  economic  growth, social progress and cultural development in the region.

The  areas  of  cooperation under the reconstituted Regional  Integrated Programme of Action which  is pursued through  the Technical Committees now  cover: Agriculture and Rural Development; Health and Population Activities; Women, Youth and Children; Environment and Forestry, Science and Technology and Meteorology; Transport;  and Human Resource Development. Working Groups have also been established in the areas of:  Information and Communications . Technology (ICT); Biotechnology; Intellectual Property Rights (IPR);  Tourism; and Energy.

Summits  are  the highest authority in SAARC and are  to be held annually. The Council  of Ministers  comprising Foreign Ministers, meets at least twice a year. Its functions include formulating policy, reviewing progress of regional cooperation,  identifllng new areas of cooperation and establishing  additional mechanisms  that may be necessary.

The  Standing Committee comprising Foreign Secretaries, monitors  and coordinates SAARC programmes of cooperation, approves projects including their  financing  and mobilises regional and external  resources. It meets as often as necessary and  reports to the Council of Ministers. The Committee on Economic Cooperation  consisting of Secretaries  of Commerce oversees regional
cooperation  in the economic field. The Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement  (SAPTA) was signed in 1993 and  four rounds of trade negotiations have been concluded.

With  the objective  of moving towards a South  Asian Economic Union (SAEU), the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) was signed during the Twelfth Summit in Islamabad in January 2004. S  AFTA entered  'into force since  July 2006.

During  the Twelfth Summit  in  Islamabad,  the SAARC Social Charter was signed in order  to address social  issues  such as population stabilisation,  empowerment of women, youth mobilisation, human resource development, promotion of health and nutrition, and protection of children, which are keys to the welfare and well-being of all South Asians. The Governors of the Central Banks of Member States under the auspices of SAARCFINANCE meet regularly to consider cooperation in financial matters.