SAARC

-Dr.D.S.Makkalanban

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 SAARC and its Members
 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
was established in SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8
December 1985.
 It comprises eight Member States:
 Afghanistan
 Bangladesh
 Bhutan
 India
 Maldives
 Nepal
 Pakistan
 Sri Lanka
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SAARC Members

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 SAARC Observers
Nine Observers:

Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mauritius,

Myanmar, USA, EU

Seven identified areas for project-based cooperation :

Communication, Connectivity, Agriculture, Public Health,

Energy, Environment and Economic Cooperation

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 Objectives

 To promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to

improve their quality of life.
 To accelerate economic growth, social progress and
cultural development in the region and to provide all
individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize
their full potentials.
 To promote and strengthen collective self-
reliance among the countries of South Asia.
 To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and
appreciation of one another’s problems..
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 Objectives

 To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in

the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields.
 To strengthen cooperation with other developing
countries.
 To strengthen cooperation among themselves in
international forums on matters of common interests; and
 To cooperate with international and regional organizations
with similar aims and purposes.

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 Principles

 Cooperation based on respect for principles of sovereign

equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-
interference in the internal affairs of other states and
mutual benefit
 Such Cooperation shall not be substitute for and
inconsistent with bilateral and multilateral obligations
 Bilateral and contentious issues are to be excluded from
the deliberations of the Association
 Decisions at all levels in SAARC are to be taken on the
basis of unanimity

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 SAARC- Institutional
Set-up

Heads of State – Summit

Council of Ministers (COM)
Standing Committee (SC)
Programming Committee (PC)
Technical Committee (TC) -7,
Working Group (WG) -4,
Specialized Ministerial Meetings: to focus on specific areas of
cooperation

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 Summit and Council of Ministers

 The highest authority of the Association rests with the

Heads of State or Government.
 The Council comprises Foreign Ministers of the
Member States
 The Council formulates policies, reviews progress,
decides on new areas of cooperation, establishes
additional mechanism for cooperation and decides on
matters of general interests
 SC, PC, WG, TC etc…

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 Meetings of Heads of State or
Government/SAARC Summits
 Ultimate goal is to achieve South Asian Economic Union in
a phased manner:

Free Trade Area Customs Union Common

Market Common Economic and Monetary
Union.
 SAARC has got Study done through ADB on Regional
Economic Integration (Phase-II) and has identified main
thrust areas including tariff liberalization, elimination of
NTBs, Trade Facilitation, Cooperation on Investment and
Services, connectivity etc…
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 SAARC Secretariat

 Established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987

 Headed by the Secretary General of SAARC, who is
nominated by the Member States (on rotation) for a three-
year-term.
 The Secretary General is assisted by eight Directors
nominated by the Member States for a three-year- term
(Extendable)

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 Regional Centres/Specialized
Bodies
 Regional Centres /Specialized Bodies function as “Centres
of Excellence” in specialized fields
RCs
1. SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka
2. SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC),
Kathmandu
3. SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Islamabad
4. SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Colombo (Matara)
5. SAARC Disaster Management Centre, (SDMC), (Interim
Unit in Gujarat)

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 Specialized Bodies of SAARC

1. SAARC Development Fund (SDF) Secretariat, Thimphu

(2010)

2. South Asian University (SAU), New Delhi (2010)

3. SAARC Arbitration Council (SAC), Islamabad (2005)

4. SAARC Regional Standards Organization (SARSO),

Dhaka (2011)

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 Areas of Cooperation
 Agriculture and Rural Development
 Biotechnology;
 Communications; Connectivity;
 Cooperatives; Economic, Trade and Finance,
 Education and Culture;
 Energy; Environment,
 Forestry and Natural Disasters;
 Food Security;
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 Areas of Cooperation

 Health; Human Resource Development;

 Human Trafficking; International Collaboration;
 People to People Contacts;
 Poverty Alleviation; Project-based Collaboration;
 Science and Technology;
 Security; Social Development;
 Standards; Tourism; Transport;
 Women Empowerment; Youth Development; Visa Exemption
Scheme
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 Areas of Cooperation
 Commerce on Economic Cooperation (CEC) of Commerce Secretaries;
 Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA);
 Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA);
 SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS);
 Meetings of SAARC Finance Ministers/Secretaries
SAARCFINANCE –
 Governors of Central Banks of Member States;
 SAARC Sub-Group on Investment and Arbitration to finalize the text of
SAARC Agreements on Protection of Investment

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 Areas of Cooperation
 Sub-Group on Customs Operation
Meetings of SAARC
 Competent Authorities on Avoidance of Double Taxation
Inter-Governmental Expert Group (IGEG) on Financial
Issues
 So, Public Procurement as an area of Cooperation is still
not included in the auspices of SAARC.

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 Dispute Settlements

 Clear roadmap on grievance redressal mechanism, including dispute

settlement process, can help improve efficiency in public procurement.
 Dispute settlement should not be time consuming, costly and
cumbersome.
 Possibility of amicable and alternative dispute settlement mechanisms
should also be explored.

 At the regional level, we have established the SAARC Arbitration

Council (SARCO) as one of the specialized bodies. SARCO is an inter-
governmental body mandated to provide a legal framework within the
region for fair and efficient settlement of commercial, industrial, trade,
banking, investment, and such other disputes.

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 Harmonization

 Another such specialized body at the regional level is the South Asian
Regional Standards Organization (SARSO).

 SARSO, which is actively engaged in promoting regional cooperation in

the fields of standardization and conformity assessment, is aimed at
developing harmonized standards for the region to facilitate intra-
regional trade as well as to have access in the global market.

 Possibility may be explored to collaborate with these two bodies along

with the South Asian University (SAU)

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 Progress made by the SAR
Conferences
Broad Decisions of 1st SAR Broad Decisions of 6th SAR Conference
Conference held in Kathmandu, held in New Delhi, in 2018
Nepal in 2011
1. Form South Asia Region Public 1) End-to-End e-procurement
Procurement Forum Coordination system with capability for e-Bank
Group (SARPPCG) comprising of Guarantee submission and data analytics
all the member countries feature

2. Hold South Asian Region Public 2) More consultations with potential

Procurement Forum each year suppliers/contractors and other
stakeholders before finalizing the
3. Host a web portal at regional level procurement strategy
for sharing experiences

4. Study and develop mechanism for

sharing and employing the “lessons
learned” to take advantage from each
other’s learning and also to avoid
repetition

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 SAARC and its Importance
 SAARC comprises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's
population and 3.8% (US$2.9 trillion) of the global economy.
 Creating synergies: It is the world’s most densely populated region
and one of the most fertile areas. SAARC countries have common
tradition, dress, food and culture and political aspects thereby
synergizing their actions.
 Common solutions: All the SAARC countries have common problems
and issues like poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, natural disasters, internal
conflicts, industrial and technological backwardness, low GDP and poor
socio-economic condition and uplift their living standards thereby
creating common areas of development and progress having common
solutions.
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 SAARC Achievements
 Free Trade Area (FTA): SAARC is comparatively a new organization in
the global arena. The member countries have established a Free Trade
Area (FTA) which will increase their internal trade and lessen the trade
gap of some states considerably.
 SAPTA: South Asia Preferential Trading Agreement for promoting
trade amongst the member countries came into effect in 1995.
 SAFTA: A Free Trade Agreement confined to goods, but excluding all
services like information technology. Agreement was signed to reduce
customs duties of all traded goods to zero by the year 2016.
 SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS): SATIS is following
the GATS-plus 'positive list' approach for trade in services liberalization.
 SAARC University: Establish a SAARC university in India, a food bank
and also an energy reserve in Pakistan. 22
 Significance for India

 Neighbourhood first: Primacy to the country’s immediate neighbours.

 Geostrategic significance: Can counter China (OBOR initiative)
through engaging Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka in
development process and economic cooperation.
 Regional stability: SAARC can help in creation of mutual trust and
peace within the region.
 Global leadership role: It offers India a platform to showcase its
leadership in the region by taking up extra responsibilities.
 Game changer for India’s Act East Policy: by linking South Asian
economies with South East asian will bring further economic integration
and prosperity to India mainly in the Services Sector.

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 Challenges

 Low frequency of meetings: More engagement is required by the

member states and instead of meeting biennial meetings should be held
annually.
 Broad area of cooperation leads to diversion of energy and resources.
 Limitation in SAFTA: The implementation of SAFTA has not been
satisfactory a Free Trade Agreement confined to goods, excluding all
services like information technology.
 Indo-Pak Relations: Escalated tension and conflict between India and
Pakistan have severely hampered the prospects of SAARC.

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THANK YOU !

© SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel: +977 1 422 1785, +977 1 422 6350
Fax: +977 1 422 7033, +977 1 422 3991
Web: http://www.saarc-sec.org
 Way Forward
 Cooperation and integration in the Economic, Trade and Financial
sectors is the key to achieve the objective of promote welfare of the
people. Therefore, deeper integration in Economic Field is the key.
 Remove all Non-tariff, para tariff barriers and reduce the items under
sensitive lists with a view to promote intra-regional trade.
 Member States need to focus on deeper cooperation in infrastructure
development as Infrastructure is the lifeline for economic development
 SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme to be expanded to promote people-to-
people contacts, economic relations & tourism
 Project based Cooperation with UN agencies and International
Organizations along with the Observers may be explores
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 Way Forward
 Encourage and facilitate expanded participation of private sector

 Project-based cooperation in the region

 Remove physical and non-physical barriers to enhance connectivity in

the region
 Policy initiatives concerning economic integration

 Strengthen existing mechanisms

 Holding of activities on time as per approved calendar of activities

 Consider new initiatives to improve efficiency in all sectors including the

private and public sectors.

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 SAARC – Latest

 The Ministry of External Affairs said India will supply COVID-19

vaccines to SAARC Nations under grant assistance.
 Recently SAARC member countries turned down Pakistan’s proposal to
host the grouping’s pending summit meeting.
 Indian Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar had recently noted issues that
cross-border terrorism, obstructing trade & blocking connectivity
 Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali had recently urged to
convene 19th summit: Pandemic Issue
 India’s proposal to launch a COVID-19 Emergency Fund was given
positive reception by SAARC nations. Within days, all the countries,
except Pakistan, contributed to it voluntarily.

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