Introduction
The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) was first time held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 8th December,1985. It is the economic and geopolitical organisation of eight south asian countries. Its headquarter is located in Kathmandu, Nepal. Arjun Bahadur Thapa is the present Secretary-General of SAARC. The 18th SAARC Summit was successfully held and concluded in Kathmandu Nepal from 26 - 27 November, 2014. The motto of this summit was "Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity." The leaders having met at this Summit re-affirmed their commitment to the principles and objective of SAARC for ensuring the welfare and qualify of life of the peoples of South Asia.
The SAARC aims to foster economic state, self-reliance among the SAARC countries and also to promote socio-cultural development in the region. The 18th SAARC Summit held in Nepal basically focused on connectivity and energy sector. Connectivity includes establishing rail and road links among the member countries, and energy sector includes power or energy distribution among member countries. Well, Nepal having the greatest potentials for hydro-electricity can benefit from it if it can trade power among member countries. Bilateral and Multi-lateral co-operation among the SAARC member countries boosts the economic, social, cultural and political relations among the member countries.
Member Countries:
India: India having the huge population of about 1.2 billion is the 4th largest economy in the world. India's Per Capita Income is about 1165 US dollars. Literacy rate of India is 74.04 per cent as of latest census. The 2nd, 8th and 14th SAARC summit were held in India. India shares borders with the all the SAARC nations (excluding Afghanistan) via land or sea. India has been an active member of SAARC. India aims to foster better mutual understanding among south asian nations through people to people initiatives. India helps in enhancement of trade and commerce of other member countries having the great source of investment.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, attended the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Pakistan: Pakistan having population about 186 million is the member country of SAARC. Its per capita income is around 1,370 US dollars. It has the literacy rate of about 56 percent. 4th and 12th SAARC summit were held in Pakistan. It proposed to host the 19th SAARC Summit, which was welcomed by all the leaders.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif attended the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal
Bangladesh: The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its population is around 159 million. It has the per capita income of 1,190 US dollars. Its literacy rate is around 57 percent. In addition to 1st SAARC summit, 7th and 13th SAARC summit were also held in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina attended the 18th SAARC Summit.
Afghanistan: Afghanistan became member of SAARC in the year 2007. Its population is around 31 millions. It has the per capita income of about 193 US dollars. Its literacy rate is 28.1 percent as per recent census. Being the recently joined member of SAARC, it has not hosted the SAARC Summit till now.
President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani attended the 18th SAARC Summit.
Nepal: Nepal is the beautiful country. It has the population of around 26.49 million. Its per capita income is about 409 US dollars. Its literacy rate is about 65.19 percent as per the latest census. 3rd (in 1987 A.D.), 11th (in 2002 A.D.) and 18th(in 2014 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Nepal.
The recently held 18th SAARC Summit was held in Kathmandu, Nepal. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala hosted the Summit.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean with a population of around 20 million. It has the per capita income of about 3,170 US dollars. It is the only country in South Asia that is currently rated 'High' in Human Development Index (HDI). It has the literacy rate of about 97 percent. 6th (in 1991 A.D.) and 15th(in 2008 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Sri Lanka.
The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, attended the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Bhutan: Bhutan is beautiful and peaceful country. It has the population of around 753.94 thousand as per the recent census. The per capita income of Bhutan is about 2037 US dollars. The general literacy rate of Bhutan is around 63 per cent. Bhutan is endowed with the rich cultural heritage of Buddhism. 16th(in 2010 A.D.) SAARC Summit was held in Bhutan.
Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan, attended the 18th SAARC Summit hosted by Nepal.
Maldives: Maldives is the smallest country in SAARC and also in Asia. It is the beautiful island country with least population of about 345 thousand. It has the highest per capita income amongst SAARC countries being 4,920 US dollars. The literacy rate of Maldives is about 98.4 percent. 5th (in 1990 A.D.) and 17th(in 2011 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Maldives.
The President of Maldives, Abdul Yameen, attended the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Observers: There are 9 observers for SAARC, Australia, Iran, Japan, China, the European Union, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States of America.
Achievements of SAARC:
Socio-cultural Achievement: Nepal utilizing its opportunity to host the 18th SAARC Summit, has uplifted the relationship with other nations of SAARC. The mutual understanding between Nepal and other SAARC countries adds a great value to the social and cultural framework of Nepal. The preservation and restituttion of the South Asian cultural property and creation of SAARC heritage list were tha major agenda to focus on social and cultural aspects of South Asian countries.
Economic Achievement: The economy covers a wide range of area. The combined effort and commitment to achieve the South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) in a different phases was taken into consideration.
The commitment towards facilitation of free trade in goods and services in South Asia through South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and removing the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) were major issues discussed into.
The 18th SAARC Summit also focused on connectivity for linking the regions through road, rail and waterways.
The 18th SAARC Summit focused mainly on poverty alleviation in the South Asian countries and also renew its efforts towards agriculture and food security. It considered the energy sector as the vital centre for development and welcomed the signing of SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation. The terrorism and other crimes were unequivocally condemned. The major emphasis was given on the effective implementation of the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism.
Nepal, having got the opportunity to host the 18th SAARC Summit, has gained manifolds benefits. The tourism sector of Nepal got benefited from this event. Nepal got global exposure about its beauty and culture. The relationship between and among the South Asian nations was strengthened, providing various support to Nepal for its developmental works.
It is the moment of being proud of our country Nepal as it successfully concluded the 18th SAARC Summit, and signified that it can move with the pace of the world in developmental activities. Nepal, our pride our land. :-)
The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) was first time held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 8th December,1985. It is the economic and geopolitical organisation of eight south asian countries. Its headquarter is located in Kathmandu, Nepal. Arjun Bahadur Thapa is the present Secretary-General of SAARC. The 18th SAARC Summit was successfully held and concluded in Kathmandu Nepal from 26 - 27 November, 2014. The motto of this summit was "Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity." The leaders having met at this Summit re-affirmed their commitment to the principles and objective of SAARC for ensuring the welfare and qualify of life of the peoples of South Asia.
The SAARC aims to foster economic state, self-reliance among the SAARC countries and also to promote socio-cultural development in the region. The 18th SAARC Summit held in Nepal basically focused on connectivity and energy sector. Connectivity includes establishing rail and road links among the member countries, and energy sector includes power or energy distribution among member countries. Well, Nepal having the greatest potentials for hydro-electricity can benefit from it if it can trade power among member countries. Bilateral and Multi-lateral co-operation among the SAARC member countries boosts the economic, social, cultural and political relations among the member countries.
Member Countries:
India: India having the huge population of about 1.2 billion is the 4th largest economy in the world. India's Per Capita Income is about 1165 US dollars. Literacy rate of India is 74.04 per cent as of latest census. The 2nd, 8th and 14th SAARC summit were held in India. India shares borders with the all the SAARC nations (excluding Afghanistan) via land or sea. India has been an active member of SAARC. India aims to foster better mutual understanding among south asian nations through people to people initiatives. India helps in enhancement of trade and commerce of other member countries having the great source of investment.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, attended the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Pakistan: Pakistan having population about 186 million is the member country of SAARC. Its per capita income is around 1,370 US dollars. It has the literacy rate of about 56 percent. 4th and 12th SAARC summit were held in Pakistan. It proposed to host the 19th SAARC Summit, which was welcomed by all the leaders.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif attended the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal
Bangladesh: The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its population is around 159 million. It has the per capita income of 1,190 US dollars. Its literacy rate is around 57 percent. In addition to 1st SAARC summit, 7th and 13th SAARC summit were also held in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina attended the 18th SAARC Summit.
Afghanistan: Afghanistan became member of SAARC in the year 2007. Its population is around 31 millions. It has the per capita income of about 193 US dollars. Its literacy rate is 28.1 percent as per recent census. Being the recently joined member of SAARC, it has not hosted the SAARC Summit till now.
President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani attended the 18th SAARC Summit.
Nepal: Nepal is the beautiful country. It has the population of around 26.49 million. Its per capita income is about 409 US dollars. Its literacy rate is about 65.19 percent as per the latest census. 3rd (in 1987 A.D.), 11th (in 2002 A.D.) and 18th(in 2014 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Nepal.
The recently held 18th SAARC Summit was held in Kathmandu, Nepal. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala hosted the Summit.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean with a population of around 20 million. It has the per capita income of about 3,170 US dollars. It is the only country in South Asia that is currently rated 'High' in Human Development Index (HDI). It has the literacy rate of about 97 percent. 6th (in 1991 A.D.) and 15th(in 2008 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Sri Lanka.
The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, attended the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Bhutan: Bhutan is beautiful and peaceful country. It has the population of around 753.94 thousand as per the recent census. The per capita income of Bhutan is about 2037 US dollars. The general literacy rate of Bhutan is around 63 per cent. Bhutan is endowed with the rich cultural heritage of Buddhism. 16th(in 2010 A.D.) SAARC Summit was held in Bhutan.
Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan, attended the 18th SAARC Summit hosted by Nepal.
Maldives: Maldives is the smallest country in SAARC and also in Asia. It is the beautiful island country with least population of about 345 thousand. It has the highest per capita income amongst SAARC countries being 4,920 US dollars. The literacy rate of Maldives is about 98.4 percent. 5th (in 1990 A.D.) and 17th(in 2011 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Maldives.
The President of Maldives, Abdul Yameen, attended the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Observers: There are 9 observers for SAARC, Australia, Iran, Japan, China, the European Union, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States of America.
Achievements of SAARC:
Socio-cultural Achievement: Nepal utilizing its opportunity to host the 18th SAARC Summit, has uplifted the relationship with other nations of SAARC. The mutual understanding between Nepal and other SAARC countries adds a great value to the social and cultural framework of Nepal. The preservation and restituttion of the South Asian cultural property and creation of SAARC heritage list were tha major agenda to focus on social and cultural aspects of South Asian countries.
Economic Achievement: The economy covers a wide range of area. The combined effort and commitment to achieve the South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) in a different phases was taken into consideration.
The commitment towards facilitation of free trade in goods and services in South Asia through South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and removing the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) were major issues discussed into.
The 18th SAARC Summit also focused on connectivity for linking the regions through road, rail and waterways.
The 18th SAARC Summit focused mainly on poverty alleviation in the South Asian countries and also renew its efforts towards agriculture and food security. It considered the energy sector as the vital centre for development and welcomed the signing of SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation. The terrorism and other crimes were unequivocally condemned. The major emphasis was given on the effective implementation of the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism.
Nepal, having got the opportunity to host the 18th SAARC Summit, has gained manifolds benefits. The tourism sector of Nepal got benefited from this event. Nepal got global exposure about its beauty and culture. The relationship between and among the South Asian nations was strengthened, providing various support to Nepal for its developmental works.
It is the moment of being proud of our country Nepal as it successfully concluded the 18th SAARC Summit, and signified that it can move with the pace of the world in developmental activities. Nepal, our pride our land. :-)
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