CONTENTS

CHAPTER-I
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE
-Introduction
-Evolution
-Institutional Set-up
-The Secretariat
-Financial Arrangements

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE

I. Introduction

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) comprises the seven countries of South Asia, i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC is a manifestation of the determination of the peoples of South Asia to work together towards finding solutions to their common problems in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding and to create an order based on mutual respect, equity and shared benefits. The primary objective of the Association is the acceleration of the process of economic and social development in member states, through collective action in agreed areas of cooperation.

II. Evolution

The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was first mooted in November 1980. After consultations, the Foreign Secretaries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981. This was followed up, a few months later, by a meeting of the Committee of the Whole, which identified five broad areas for regional cooperation. The Foreign Ministers, at their first meeting in New Delhi in August 1983, adopted the Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) and formally launched the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA) in the five agreed areas of cooperation namely, Agriculture; Rural Development; Telecommunications; Meteorology, and Health and Population Activities. Later, Transport; Postal Services; Scientific and Technological Cooperation; Sports, Arts and Culture were added to the IPA.

The Heads of State or Government at their First SAARC Summit held in Dhaka on 7-8 December 1985 adopted the Charter formally establishing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The objectives, principles and general provisions as mentioned in the SAARC Charter are as follows:

Objectives
- 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 realise 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 interests; and
- To cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.

Principles
- Cooperation within the framework of the Association is based on respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and mutual benefit.
- Such cooperation is to complement and not to substitute bilateral or multilateral cooperation.
- Such cooperation should be consistent with bilateral and multilateral obligations of Member States.

General Provisions
- Decisions at all levels in SAARC are taken on the basis of unanimity.
- Bilateral and contentious issues are excluded from the deliberations of the Association.

III. Institutional Set-up

Summit
The highest authority of the Association rests with the Heads of State or Government, who meet annually at Summit level. To date, ten Meetings of the Heads of State or Government have been held in Dhaka (1985), Bangalore (1986), Kathmandu (1987), Islamabad (1988), Malé (1990), Colombo (1991), Dhaka (1993) New Delhi (1995), Malé (1997), and Colombo (1998), respectively.The Eleventh and Twelfth SAARC Summits will be held in Nepal (1999) and Pakistan (2000), respectively.

The Heads of State or Government during the Ninth SAARC Summit agreed that a process of informal political consultations would prove useful in promoting peace, stability and amity and accelerated socio-economic cooperation in the region.

Council of Ministers
Comprising the Foreign Ministers of Member States, the Council is responsible for formulating policies; reviewing progress; deciding on new areas of cooperation; establishing additional mechanisms as deemed necessary; and deciding on other matters of general interest to the Association. The Council meets twice a year and may also meet in extraordinary session by agreement of Member States. It has held twenty regular sessions till December 1998. The Twenty-first Session of the Council will be held in Colombo in March 1999.

A Commemorative Session of the Council, to mark the First Decade of SAARC, was also held at New Delhi on December 18, 1995, during the Sixteenth Session of the Council of Ministers.

Standing Committee
The Standing Committee comprising the Foreign Secretaries of Member States is entrusted with the task of overall monitoring and coordination of programmes and the modalities of financing; determining inter-sectoral priorities; mobilising regional and external resources; and identifying new areas of cooperation. It may meet as often as deemed necessary but in practice normally meets twice a year and submits its reports to the Council of Ministers. The Committee has held twenty-five regular sessions and two special sessions till December 1998. The Twenty-sixth session of the Committee will be held in Colombo in March 1999.

The Standing Committee may also set up Action Committees comprising of Member States concerned with implementation of projects as per Article VII of the Charter.

The Standing Committee is assisted by a Programming Committee, an adhoc body, comprising senior officials, to scrutinise the Secretariat Budget, finalise the Calendar of Activities and take up any other matter assigned to it by the Standing Committee. The Programming Committee has also been entrusted to consider the Reports of the Technical Committees and the SAARC Regional Centres and submit its comments to the Standing Committee. The Programming Committee has held twenty sessions till December 1998.

Technical Committees
Comprising representatives from the Member States, the Technical Committees formulate programmes and prepare projects in their respective fields which make up the Integrated Programme of Action under SAARC. They are responsible for monitoring the implementation of such activities and submit their reports to the Standing Committee through the Programming Committee. There are currently eleven Technical Committees, the Chairmanship of which rotates among Member Countries in alphabetical order every two years.

The Chairpersons of the Technical Committees for the period 1997-98 are as follows :

Other Meetings
Since the establishment of the Association, several other important meetings have taken place in specific contexts. A number of SAARC Ministerial Meetings have been held, to focus attention on specific areas of common concern and have become an integral part of the consultative structure.

Six Meetings of Planners have been held so far, i.e. one in 1983 and five annually from 1987 to 1991. These meetings initiated cooperation in important areas such as Trade, Manufactures and Services; Basic Needs; Human Resource Development; Data base on socio-economic indicators; Energy Modelling Techniques; Plan Modelling Techniques and Poverty Alleviation Strategies. The Ministerial-level meetings held so far to address different issues are given below:

IV.The Secretariat

The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987. Its role is to coordinate and monitor the implementation of SAARC activities, service the meetings of the Association and serve as the channel of communication between SAARC and other international organisations. The Secretariat, being the headquarters of the organisation has recently been increasingly utilised as the venue for various SAARC meetings.

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General, seven Directors and the General Services Staff. Initially, the Secretary-General was appointed by the Council of Ministers upon nomination by a Member State on the principle of rotation in alphabetical order for a period of two years. The Ninth SAARC Summit (Male , May 1997) has decided that henceforth the tenure of the Secretary-General shall be for three years.

The following have served as SAARC Secretaries-General:

Mr. Abul Ahsan from Bangladesh (16 Jan 1987 - 15 Oct 1989);
Mr. Kant Kishore Bhargava from India (17 Oct 1989- 31 Dec 1991);
Mr. Ibrahim Hussain Zaki from Maldives (1 Jan 1992-31 Dec 1993);
Mr. Yadab Kant Silwal from Nepal (1 Jan 1994 - 31 Dec 1995);
Mr. Naeem U.Hasan from Pakistan (1 Jan 1996 - 31 Dec 1998).
The present Secretary-General, Mr. Nihal Rodrigo from Sri Lanka assumed office on 1 January 1999.

Directors are appointed by the Secretary-General upon nomination by Member States for a period of three years which, in special circumstances, may be extended by the Secretary-General for a period not exceeding another full term, in consultation with the Member State concerned.

V.Financial Arrangements

Member states make provision in their national budgets, for financing activities and programmes under the SAARC framework, including contributions to the Secretariat budget and that of the regional institutions. The financial provision thus made is announced annually, at the meeting of the Standing Committee.

The annual budget of the Secretariat, both for capital as well as recurrent expenditure, is shared by member states on the basis of an agreed formula. The initial cost of the main building of the Secretariat, together with all facilities and equipment, as well as that of the annex building completed in 1993 has been met by His Majesty s Government of Nepal.

A minimum of forty percent of the institutional cost of regional institutions is borne by the respective host governments and the balance is shared by all member states, on the basis of an agreed formula. Capital expenditure of regional institutions which includes physical infrastructure, furnishing, machines, equipment etc. are normally borne by the respective host governments. Programme expenditure of regional institutions is also shared by member states, according to the agreed formula.

In the case of activities under the approved Calendar, local expenses including hospitality are borne by the host Governments, while the cost of travel is met by the sending Governments.

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