SAARC Policies and Structure
SAARC was born on 6 and 7 December 1975 at the summit of state and government of 6 South Asian countries in Dhaka. It is at this meeting that the policy and organizational structure of the organization is determined.
*The policies of SAARC are-
1. Cooperation will be based on equal sovereignty, political independence, mutual aid and non-interference in the internal affairs of others.
2. This cooperation is not an alternative to bilateral and multilateral cooperation, but its ally.
3. The organization will be discussed on the basis of consensus and controversial issues will be avoided.
Organizational Structure
The organizational structures of SAARC are-
1. Summit of the Heads of State / Government.
2. Cabinet Meeting in collaboration with the Foreign Ministers of eight countries.
3. Standing Committee in collaboration with the Secretaries of the Foreign Ministries of eight countries.
4. Standing Committee comprising representatives of the member states.
5. Working Committee.
Areas of SAARC Cooperation
From its inception in 1975 to 20 February 2014, 16 SAARC Summits have been held.
*The last summit has identified several areas of SAARC cooperation -
* Agriculture and Rural Development
* Biotechnology
* Communication Information and Media
* Economy
* SAARC Energy
* Environment
* Fundraising
* Human Resource Development * Legal
* Public Relations
* Poverty Release
* Science and Technology
* SAARC Agenda
* SAARC Regional Transport Monitoring
* SAARC Tourism.
Secretary General of SAARC
A total of 12 people have served as Secretary General of SAARC since its inception. The first Secretary General of SAARC is Mr. Abul Ahsan of Bangladesh and the twelfth and last Secretary General is Arjun Bahadur Thapa of Nepal.
Organizations of SAARC
Since the establishment of SAARC in 1975, various organizations have been established to meet the demand at different times. Through which the development of member countries is being accelerated.
*The following are the names of the various SAARC affiliates and headquarters:
1. SAARC Meteorological Research Center - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2. SAARC Agricultural Information Center - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3. SAARC Information Center - Kathmandu, Nepal.
4. SAARC Tuberculosis Center - Kathmandu, Nepal.
5. SAARC Cultural Center - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
6. SAARC Coastal Area Management Center - Male, Maldives.
7. SAARC Forest Center - Thimphu, Bhutan.
8. SAARC Human Resource Development Center - Islamabad, Pakistan.
9. SAARC Energy Center - Pakistan.
10. South Asian University - New Delhi, India.
SAARC and Bangladesh
Bangladesh has played a leading role in the establishment of SAARC. The Food Reserve System has been set up in line with Bangladesh's recommendations to address food shortages in South Asia. In addition, the South Asian Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) was signed at the Seventh SAARC Summit in Dhaka in 1993 with the aim of alleviating poverty and expanding trade. Bangladesh's specific proposal to take effective steps to stop trafficking in women and children has been adopted at the SAARC Summit. Besides, Bangladesh is vocal in counter-terrorism and drug control. The 13th Summit held in Dhaka in 2005 is a significant conference in the history of SAARC. At this conference, the 53-point Dhaka Declaration was adopted, including the declaration of 'SAARC Poverty Free from Poverty' in 2006-2015. Thus, Bangladesh has always been making sincere efforts to make SAARC an effective body for regional cooperation and economic development.
Successes and Failures of SAARC
For a long period of two and a half decades, SAARC has done commendable work, albeit on a limited scale. Such as signing of MoU on Counter-Terrorism, Regional Food Security, Transport and Communication Cooperation, Biotechnology, Environment, Climate, Forestry and Mutual Cooperation in Media Sector, Formation of SAPTA and SAFTA. Besides, the formation of SAARC Agriculture Center, SAARC Tuberculosis Center, SAARC Meteorological Research Center, SAARC Energy Center, SAARC University etc. is a reflection of SAARC's success. Although SAARC is the world's largest regional organization by population, it has not been as successful as ASEAN. According to experts, one of the reasons for SAARC's failure is the reluctance of member countries to strengthen regional and economic cooperation and the Pak-India, India-China, India-Sri Lanka border and political disputes.
SAARC is the largest in terms of population as well as the 3rd largest regional organization in the world in terms of GDP. SAARC has not been very successful due to various obstacles. However, everyone is hopeful that the positive outlook of the present Prime Minister of India will accelerate the pace of SAARC. Thus, SAARC will become a functioning organization by removing all grievances and obstacles through the 16th Summit and strengthening its regional and economic cooperation.
