South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) celebrated its 36th Charter Day in Thimphu on 8th December. This day marks the signing of the SAARC Charter in 1985 by the leaders of SAARC Countries at the First SAARC Summit held in Dhaka (Bangladesh).
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an intergovernmental organization for the development of economic and regional integration. The organization has the support of different countries known as member-state.
The main aim of SAARC is to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life, and to accelerate economic growth, among other things.
SAARC was created in 1985 to promote economic development and social progress in South Asia through regional cooperation. Presently, it has eight member countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The main objectives of SAARC are to place regional cooperation on a firm foundation, accelerate the pace of social and economic development of the countries, and further the cause of peace, progress and stability in the region.
India is a founding member of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that was set up in 1985 as an organization to build a connected and integrated South Asia with the larger aim of promoting the development and progress of all countries in the region.
India's exports to other SAARC member countries is just 6.4% of the country's total exports. It is growing at an average 33.76% per annum which is much higher compared to India's exports to EU countries which is growing at a around 1.2% per annum.
The most important factor is that India is the only country, which shares borders with all the SAARC countries, barring Maldives and Afghanistan. The implication of this geographical reality is that India has to facilitate the establishment of strong economical linkages with the neighbouring countries.
India continues to support various initiatives in the SAARC framework to achieve closer cooperation in diverse areas. Out of the eighteen SAARC Summits held so far, India has hosted three, viz. the second (Bengaluru, November 1986), the eighth (New Delhi, May 1995) and the fourteenth (New Delhi, April 2007).
