The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Charter Day is annually observed on 8th December to commemorate the signing of the SAARC Charter in 1985 during the inaugural SAARC Summit held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- 8th December 2024 marks the 40th observance of SAARC Charter Day.
Background:
i.SAARC is a geopolitical and economic organization that includes eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
- The SAARC Charter was initially signed by 7 countries in 1985. In 2007, Afghanistan became the 8th member during the 14th Summit held in New Delhi(Delhi), India.
ii.SAARC Charter Day was formed when the SAARC Charter was adopted during its first summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 7-8, 1985.
- On January 17, 1987, The Secretariat of the Association was established in Kathmandu, Nepal.
iii.The first-ever SAARC Charter Day was observed on 8th December 1985.
About SAARC Charter:
The SAARC Charter contains 10 articles that outline the organization’s objectives, principles, structure, meetings, secretariat, and financial arrangements.
SAARC Summits:
i.Summits were typically held every two years, hosted by a Member State in alphabetical order.
ii.The Member State hosting the Summit assumed the Chair of the Association.
iii.The 18th summit was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 26-27 November 2014.
iv.Pakistan was set to host the 19th SAARC summit in Islamabad on November 15-16, 2016, but India cancelled its participation following the Uri terror attack, accusing Pakistan of involvement.
Specialized Bodies of SAARC:
SAARC Arbitration Council (SARCO):
The agreement on SARCO was signed during the 13th Summit and came into effect on 2nd July 2007, to resolve disputes through cost-effective arbitration within the region.
South Asian University (SAU):
The agreement was signed by the Ministers of Foreign & External Affairs (MoF&EA) of the SAARC member states during the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi on 4th April 2007.
SAARC Development Fund (SDF):
The 13th SAARC Summit, held in Dhaka on 12-13Â November 2005, decided to create the SAARC Development Fund (SDF) as a funding system with three areas of focus: Social, Economic, and Infrastructure.
Secretariat and SAARC Regional Standards Organization (SARSO):
The 15th SAARC Summit led to the creation of SARSO to standardize and encourage cooperation in metrology, accreditation, and conformity assessment, helping national institutions improve their technical tasks. It took effect on August 25, 2011.
About the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC):
SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s land area, 21% of the world’s population and 5.21% (USD 4.47 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2021.
Secretary-General – Md. Golam Sarwar (Bangladesh)
SAARC Chairmanship – Nepal
Secretariat – Kathmandu, Nepal
Established – 1985
