Write the information about South Asian Association of Regional Co-Operation (SAARC).

Answer:

• Establishment: SAARC was founded on 8 December 1985 at Dhaka. President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh first proposed the idea.
• Members: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives; Afghanistan joined in 2007. Its secretariat is at Kathmandu (Nepal).
• Objectives: to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia, speed up economic growth, social progress and cultural development, and strengthen collective self-reliance and mutual trust.
• Principles: respect for sovereign equality and territorial integrity, non-interference in internal matters, decisions by unanimity, and keeping bilateral disputes out of its forum.
• Work: cooperation in agriculture, health, education, science and technology, and trade; the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA, 1995) and South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA, 2006); the South Asian University in New Delhi.
• Limitations: tension between India and Pakistan and political differences have slowed its progress.