SAARC-How can it be used for
regional prosperity?
A country depends on itself whereas a region needs an organization for prosperity. The South Asian
Association For Regional Prosperity (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and
geopolitical union of states in south Asia. its member nations are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan ,
India, Maldives, Nepal,Pakistan, and Sri [Link] comprises 21%of the world population , 3% of the
world’s land area, and 5.21% of the global economy as of 2021.
Looking back to the history of its establishment, the ideas of cooperating among South Asian countries
were discussed in three conferences: the Asian Relations Conference held in New Delhi in April 1947;
the Baguio Conference in the Philippines in May 1950; and the Colombo Powers Conference held
in Sri Lanka in April 1954. In the ending years of the 1970s, the seven inner South Asian nations that
included Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, agreed upon the
creation of a trade block and to provide a platform for the people of South Asia to work together in a
spirit of friendship, trust, and understanding. President Ziaur Rahman later addressed official letters
to the leaders of the countries of South Asia, presenting his vision for the future of the region and
compelling arguments for cooperation. During his visit to India in December 1977, Rahman
discussed the issue of regional cooperation with the Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai. In the
inaugural speech to the Colombo Plan Consultative Committee which met in Kathmandu also in
1977, King Birendra of Nepal gave a call for close regional cooperation among South Asian
countries in sharing river waters.
After the USSR intervened in Afghanistan, efforts to establish the union were accelerated in 1979
amid the resulting rapid deterioration of the South Asian security situation. [11] Responding to Rahman
and Birendra's convention, officials of the foreign ministries of the seven countries met for the first
time in Colombo in April 1981. The Bangladeshi proposal was promptly endorsed by Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives, however, India and Pakistan were skeptical initially. Compex and
large hostile relationship between these two countries might be the reason.
However, after a series of diplomatic consultations headed by Bangladesh between South Asian UN
representatives at the UN headquarters in New York, from September 1979 to 1980, it was agreed
that Bangladesh would prepare the draft of a working paper for discussion among the foreign
secretaries of South Asian countries. The foreign secretaries of the inner seven countries again
delegated a Committee of the Whole in Colombo in September 1981, which identified five broad
areas for regional cooperation.
In 1983, at the international conference held in Dhaka by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign
ministers of the inner seven countries adopted the Declaration on South Asian Association Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) and formally launched the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA) initially in
five agreed areas of cooperation, namely, Agriculture; Rural Development; Telecommunications;
Meteorology; and Health and Population Activities.
Officially, the union was established in Dhaka with Kathmandu being the union's secretariat-general.
Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka on 7-8
December 1985 hosted by the president of Bangladesh Husain Erashed.
Although, SAARC was founded by seven states in 1985. In 2005, Afghanistan began negotiating
their accession to SAARC and formally applied for membership in the same year. [26][27] The issue of
Afghanistan joining SAARC generated a great deal of debate in each member state, including
concerns about the definition of South Asian identity. because Afghanistan is considered a Central
Asian country, while it is neither accepted as a Middle Eastern country, nor as a Central
Asian country, or as part of the Indian subcontinent, other than being only in part of South Asia but
lastly it joined the organization.
During the establishment SAARC had promised lots of things to implement but it hadnot
implemented [Link] it had done a lot in a region but in 3 decade nothing is their to show as a
concrete or achievable