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Yet there has not been a substantial progress in regional peace and amity, mainly due to India-Pakistan rivalry. The so-called SAARC spirit of cooperation and fraternity is looking frail today due to the simmering hostility between India and Pakistan. In the current crisis, the smaller member states of SAARC are only bystanders, unable to do anything to defuse the crisis. Despite the prevailing gloom, Bangladesh, along with other SAARC members, should continue efforts to better relations between the two major partners. The problems facing the SAARC countries can be best faced regionally be it terrorism, poverty reduction, climate change or job creation. Bangladesh, having excellent relation with all member states, could be a catalyst for future cooperation within SAARC. Bangladesh and the World Bangladesh maintains close diplomatic and economic links with North America and the EU. These two regions are the major destination of our export and are important sources of development assistance. We have a special relationship with the UK within Commonwealth. Our relationship with Japan, Korea and the countries in Southeast Asia are very important for trade, commerce, investment and economic assistance. Bangladesh's special relationship with the members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) needed to be mentioned. The Gulf Arab states are important as a source for our energy resources. They are also vital to our economic wellbeing because of the remittance that we receive from our workers in the region. The downside of our relations with the Gulf States has been an inflow of extremist religious ideologies that originate there and are officially patronised by some of these states. Bangladesh is an active member of the UN and its many agencies. It is one of the largest contributors of military and police forces to the worldwide Peace Keeping Operations (PKO). High degree of professionalism shown by our forces around the world had earned admiration of the world community.
History
In the late 1970s, Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman proposed the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South Asian countries. The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was again mooted in May 1980. The foreign secretaries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981. The Committee of the Whole, which met in Colombo in August 1981, identified five broad areas for regional cooperation. New areas of cooperation were added in the following years.[1] The objectives of the Association as defined in the Charter are:[2]
to promote the welfare of the peoples 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 potential; 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; 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 interest; and to cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.
The Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation was adopted by the Foreign Ministers in 1983 in New Delhi. During the meeting, the Ministers also launched the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA) in nine agreed areas, namely, Agriculture; Rural Development; Telecommunications; Meteorology; Health and Population Activities; Transport; Postal Services; Science and Technology; and Sports, Arts and Culture. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established when its Charter was formally adopted on 8 December 1985 by the Heads of State or Government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.[2] Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping at the behest of India on November 13, 2005,[3] and became a member on April 3, 2007.[4] With the addition of Afghanistan, the total number of member states were raised to eight (8). In April 2006, the United States of America and South Korea made formal requests to be granted observer status. The European Union has also indicated interest in being given observer status, and made a formal request for the same to the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in July 2006.[5][6] On August 2, 2006 the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to the US, South Korea and the European Union.[6] On 4 March 2007, Iran requested observer status.[7] Followed shortly by the entrance of Mauritius.
[edit] Secretariat
The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. It is headed by a Secretary General appointed by the Council of Ministers from Member Countries in alphabetical order for a three-year term. He is assisted by the Professional and the General Services Staff, and also an appropriate number of functional units called Divisions assigned to Directors on deputation from Member States.[8] The Secretariat coordinates and monitors implementation of activities, prepares for and services meetings, and serves as a channel of communication between the Association and its Member States as well as other regional organizations.[8]
The Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Secretariat[8] which was signed by Foreign Ministers of member countries on 17 November 1986 at Bangalore, India contains various clauses concerning the role, structure and administration of the SAARC Secretariat as well as the powers of the Secretary-General. In several recent meetings the heads of state or government of member states of SAARC have taken some important decisions and bold initiatives to strengthen the organisation and to widen and deepen regional co-operation. The SAARC Secretariat and Member States observe 8 December as the SAARC Charter Day1..
[edit] Criticism
SAARC's inability to play a crucial role in integrating South Asia is often credited to the political and military rivalry between India and Pakistan. It is due to these economic, political, and territorial disputes that South Asian nations have not been able to harness the benefits of a unified economy. Over the years, SAARC's role in South Asia has been greatly diminished and is now used as a mere platform for annual talks and meetings between its members.
The summit accorded observer status to People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea and United States of America. The nations also agreed to organize development funds under a single financial institution with a permanent secretariat, that would cover all SAARC programs and also ranging from social, to infrastructure, to economic one
Membership
[edit] Current members (alphabetically)
[edit] Observers
Australia[9] China European Union[10] Iran[11] Japan[10] Mauritius [12] Myanmar (Burma) [9] South Korea United States
1. overall reciprocity and mutuality of advantages so as to benefit equitably all Contracting States, taking into account their respective level of economic and industrial development, the pattern of their external trade, and trade and tariff policies and systems; 2. negotiation of tariff reform step by step, improved and extended in successive stages through periodic reviews; 3. recognition of the special needs of the Least Developed Contracting States and agreement on concrete preferential measures in their favour; 4. inclusion of all products, manufactures and commodities in their raw, semiprocessed and processed forms. So far, four rounds of trade negotiations have been concluded under SAPTA covering over 5000 commodities.