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South Asia Association for Regional

Logo

Member states

Observer states

Headquarters Kathmandu, Nepal

Official languages English

Membership

Leaders ­ Secretary­General Arjun Bahadur Thapa[1] ­ Directors:

Afghanistan Md Ibrahim Ghafoori[2] ­ Bangladesh MJH Jabed[3] ­ Bhutan Singye Dorjee[4] ­ India L. Savithri[5] ­ Maldivesa Fathimath Najwa[6]

­ Nepal Harpal Sing Nepali[7] ­ Pakistan Ahmar Ismail

(http://www.saarc­sec.org/Ahmar­Ismail/48/)[8]

­ Sri Lanka Prasanna Gamage[9]

Establishment 8 December 1985

GDP (PPP) April 2015 estimate ­ Total US$9.9 trillion [10]

GDP (nominal) April 2015 estimate ­ Total US$ 2.9 trillion[10]

Websitewww.saarc­sec.org (http://www.saarc­sec.org/)

Current SAARC Summit host

South Asian Association for Regional CooperationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and geopolitical organisation ofeight countries that are primarily located in South Asia or Indian subcontinent.[11] The SAARC Secretariat is basedin Kathmandu, Nepal.[12] The combined economy of SAARC is the 3rd largest in the world in the terms ofGDP(PPP) after the United States and China and 5th largest in the terms of nominal GDP. SAARC nations comprise3% of the world's area and contain 21% (around 1.7 billion) of the world's total population and around 9.12% ofGlobal economy as of 2015. SAARC also home to world's 3rd & 7th largest Economy of world in GPP(PPP) &GDP(Nominal) terms respectively as well as World's fastest growing major Economy,that is India. India makes upover 70% of the area and population among these eight nations. All non­Indian member states except Afghanistanshare borders with India but only two other members, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have a border with each other.During 2005­10, the average GDP growth rate of SAARC stood at an impressive 8.8% p.a., but it slowed to 6.5% in2011 largely because of economic slowdown in India, which accounts for nearly 80% of SAARC's economy. Butdriven by a strong expansion in India, coupled with favorable oil prices,from the last quarter of 2014 South Asiaonce again become the fastest­growing region in the world.[13]

The idea of regional political and economical cooperation in South Asia was first raised in 2 May 1980 byBangladesh President Ziaur Rahman and the first summit was held in Dhaka on 8 December 1985, when theorganisation was established by the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and SriLanka.[14][15] Since then the organisation has expanded by accepting one new full member, Afghanistan,[16] andseveral observer members.[14]

The SAARC policies aim to promote welfare economics, collective self­reliance among the countries of South Asia,and to accelerate socio­cultural development in the region.[17] The SAARC has developed external relations byestablishing permanent diplomatic relations with the EU, the UN (as an observer), and other multilateral entities.[17]The official meetings of the leaders of each nation are held annually whilst the foreign ministers meet twiceannually.[17] The 18th SAARC Summit was held in Kathmandu from 26–27 November 2014.

Contents

1 History2 Members and observers

2.1 Observers2.2 Potential future members

3 Secretariat3.1 Regional Centres

4 Apex and Recognised Bodies5 Political issues6 South Asian Free Trade Area7 SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme8 Awards

8.1 SAARC Award8.2 SAARC Literary Award8.3 SAARC Youth Award

9 Anthem10 Secretaries­General of SAARC11 SAARC summits12 See also13 References14 External links

History

The idea of co­operation in South Asia was discussed in at least three conferences: the Asian Relations Conference held in New Delhi on April 1947; the BaguioConference in the Philippines on May 1950; and the Colombo Powers Conference held in Sri Lanka in April 1954.[18]

In the ending years of the 1970s, the seven inner South Asian nations that included Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka agreed uponthe creation of a trade bloc and to provide a platform for the people of South Asia to work together in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding. President ZiaurRahman later addressed official letters to the leaders of the countries of the South Asia, presenting his vision for the future of the region and the compelling argumentsfor region.[14] During his visit to India in December 1977, President Ziaur Rahman discussed the issue of regional cooperation with the then Indian Prime Minister,Morarji Desai. In the inaugural speech to the Colombo Plan Consultative Committee which met in Kathmandu also in 1977, King Birendra of Nepal gave a call forclose regional cooperation among South Asian countries in sharing river waters.[19] After the USSR's intervention in Afghanistan, the efforts to established the unionwas accelerated in 1979 and the resulting rapid deterioration of South Asian security situation.[19] Responding to the President Zia Rehman and King Birendra'sconvention, the officials of the foreign ministries of the seven countries met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981.[19] The Bangladesh's proposal was promptlyendorsed by Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives but India and Pakistan were sceptical initially.[19] The Indian concern was the proposal’s reference to thesecurity matters in South Asia and feared that President Zia Rehman's proposal for a regional organisation might provide an opportunity for new smaller neighbours torenationalised all bilateral issues and to join with each other to gang up against India. Pakistan assumed that it might be an Indian strategy to organise the other SouthAsian countries against Pakistan and ensure a regional market for Indian products, thereby consolidating and further strengthening India’s economic dominance in theregion.[19]

However, after a series of quiet diplomatic consultations between South Asian foreign ministers at the UN headquarters in New York from August to September 1980,it was agreed that Bangladesh would prepare the draft of a working paper for discussion among the foreign secretaries of South Asian countries.[19] The foreignsecretaries of the inner seven countries again delegated a Committee of the Whole in Colombo on September 1981, which identified five broad areas for regionalcooperation. New areas of co­operation were added in the following years.[20]

Cooperation (SAARC)

8 members9 observers

a.

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v • d • e (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

title=Template:Supranational_Asian_Bodies&action=edit)

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships betweenvarious Asian regional organisations

In 1983, the international conference held by Indian Minister of External Affairs P.V. Narasimha Raoin New Delhi, the foreign ministers of the inner seven countries adopted the Declaration on SouthAsian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and formally launched the Integrated Programmeof Action (IPA) initially in five agreed areas of cooperation namely, Agriculture; Rural Development;Telecommunications; Meteorology; and Health and Population Activities.[21]

Officially, the union was established in Dhaka with Kathmandu being union's secretariat­general.[22]The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka on 7–8 December 1985 and hosted by the President ofBangladesh Hussain Ershad.[15] The declaration signed by King of Bhutan Jigme Singye, President ofPakistan Zia­ul­Haq, Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, King of Nepal Birendra Shah, President ofSri Lanka JR Jayewardene, and President of Maldives Maumoon Gayoom.[15]

Members and observers

Economic data is sourced from the International Monetary Fund, current as of April 2015, and is givenin US dollars.[23]

Country Population(Million) GDP(Nominal)

GDP(PPP)

GDPper

Capita(PPP)

GDPGrowthRate(2014)

Exports(2014)

ForeignDirect

Investment(2013)

ForeignExchange

Reserves(million)

DefenseBudget(%of GDP)(2014)[24]

LiteracyRate(GivenAge &above

Afghanistan 32.007 $21.3 bn $63.5 bn $1,976 3.2% $0.3 bn N/A $6,442 N/A 28.1%(Age15)

Bangladesh 159.857 $205.3 bn $572.6bn $3,581 6.2% $31.2 bn $0.66 bn $24,072 $2.2

bn(1.2%)57.7%(Age

15) Bhutan 0.779 $2.2 bn $6.3 bn $8,158 6.4% $0.7 bn $63 mln N/A N/A 52.8%(age 15)

India 1,276.2 $2308.0 bn $7996.6bn $6,266 7.3% $464.0 bn $31.0 bn $351,557 $45 bn(1.9%) 74.4%(age 7)

Maldives 0.38 $3.0 bn $5.2 bn $14,980 4.5% $0.28 bn N/A $356 N/A 99%(age 15)

Nepal 28.4 $21.6 bn $70.7 bn $2,488 5.5% $1.0 bn $10 mln $5,439 N/A 66%(age 15)

Pakistan 190.4 $250 bn $928.0bn $4,886 4.2% $25.1 bn $2.2 bn $16,305 $7.4bn(3.5%) 55%(age 15)

SriLanka 21.7 $80.4 bn $233.7

bn $11,068 7% $11.8 bn $0.9 bn $8,314 $1.4bn(2.3%) 98.1%(age 15)

The first secretary general was Abul Hasan (16 January 1985 ­ 5 October 1989) the first female secretary general was Fathima Dhayana Sied (Maldivis) The firstsecretary general from India was Kant Kishore Bhargava (17 Oct 1989 ­ 31 Dec 1991)

The member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[28]

SAARC was founded by seven states in 1985. In 2005, Afghanistan began negotiating their accession to SAARC and formally applied for membership on the sameyear.[29][30] The issue of Afghanistan joining SAARC generated a great deal of debate in each member state, including concerns about the definition of South Asianidentity because Afghanistan is a Central Asian country.[31]

The SAARC member states imposed a stipulation for Afghanistan to hold a general election; the non­partisan elections were held in late 2005.[31] Despite initialreluctance and internal debates, Afghanistan joined SAARC as its eighth member state in April 2007.[31][32]

Observers

States with observer status include[33] Australia,[34] China, the European Union,[35] Iran, Japan,[35] Mauritius,[36] Myanmar, South Korea and the United States.[37]

On 2 August 2006, the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to three applicants;[38] the US and South Korea (bothmade requests in April 2006),[38] as well as the European Union (requested in July 2006).[39] On 4 March 2008, Iran requested observer status,[40] followed shortly byMauritius.

Potential future members

Myanmar has expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of SAARC.[41] Russia has applied for observer status membership ofSAARC.[42][43][44][45] Turkey applied for observer status membership of SAARC in 2012.[42][43][44][45] South Africa has participated in meetings.[46]

Secretariat

The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal.

Regional Centres

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Secretariat of the South AsianAssociation for Regional Cooperationin Kathmandu, Nepal

Countries under the South Asian Free Trade Area

The SAARC Secretariat is supported by following Regional Centres established in Member States to promote regional co­operation. These Centres are managed byGoverning Boards comprising representatives from all the Member States, SAARC Secretary­General and the Ministry of Foreign/External Affairs of the HostGovernment. The Director of the Centre acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee.

SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka, BangladeshSAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka, BangladeshSAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu, NepalSAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi, IndiaSAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad, PakistanSAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), MaldivesSAARC Information Centre (SIC), NepalSAARC Energy Centre (SEC), PakistanSAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), IndiaSAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), BhutanSAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka[47]SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Bhutan

Apex and Recognised Bodies

SAARC has six Apex Bodies,[48] namely, SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), SAARCLAW (South AsianAssociation For Regional Cooperation In Law),[49] South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), South Asia Foundation (SAF), South Asia Initiative to EndViolence Against Children (SAIEVAC), Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL)

Hemant Batra is the current incumbent Secretary General of SAARCLAW.

SAARC also has about 17 recognised bodies.[48]

Political issues

Lasting peace and prosperity of the Indian subcontinent has been elusive due to the various ongoing conflicts and in the region. Political dialogue is often conducted onthe margins of SAARC meetings which have refrained from interfering in the internal matters of its member states.[50] During the 12th and 13th SAARC summits,extreme emphasis was laid upon greater co­operation between the SAARC members to fight terrorism.[51][52]

South Asian Free Trade Area

SAFTA was envisaged primarily as the first step towards the transition to a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)leading subsequently towards a Customs Union, Common Market and Economic Union. In 1995, the Sixteenthsession of the Council of Ministers (New Delhi, 18–19 December 1995) agreed on the need to strive for therealisation of SAFTA and to this end an Inter­Governmental Expert Group (IGEG) was set up in 1996 to identifythe necessary steps for progressing to a free trade area. The Tenth SAARC Summit (Colombo, 29–31 July 1998)decided to set up a Committee of Experts (COE) to draft a comprehensive treaty framework for creating a free tradearea within the region, taking into consideration the asymmetries in development within the region and bearing inmind the need to fix realistic and achievable targets. The SAFTA Agreement was signed on 6 January 2004 duringTwelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2006, andthe Trade Liberalisation Programme commenced from 1 July 2006. Under this agreement, SAARC members willbring their duties down to 20 per cent by 2009. Following the Agreement coming into force the SAFTA MinisterialCouncil (SMC) has been established comprising the Commerce Ministers of the Member States.[53] In 2012 the SAARC exports increased substantially to US$354.6billion from US$206.7 billion in 2009. Imports too increased from US$330 billion to US$602 billion over the same period. But the intra­SAARC trade amounts to justa little over 1% of SAARC's GDP. In contrast, in ASEAN (which is actually smaller than SAARC in terms of size of economy) the intra­bloc trade stands at 10% of itsGDP.

SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme

The SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme was launched in 1992. The leaders at the Fourth Summit (Islamabad, 29–31 December 1988), while realising the importance ofhaving people to people contacts, among the peoples of SAARC countries, decided that certain categories of dignitaries should be entitled to a Special Traveldocument, which would exempt them from visas within the region. As directed by the Summit, the Council of Ministers regularly kept under review the list of entitledcategories. Currently the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include Dignitaries, Judges of higher courts, Parliamentarians, Senior Officials,Businessmen, Journalists, Sportsmen etc. The Visa Stickers are issued by the respective Member States to the entitled categories of that particular country. The validityof the Visa Sticker is generally for one year. The implementation is reviewed regularly by the Immigration Authorities of SAARC Member States.[54]

Awards

SAARC Award

The Twelfth Summit approved the SAARC Award to support individuals and organisations within the region. The main ends of the SAARC Award are:

To encourage individuals and organisations based in South Asia to undertake programmes and activities that complement the efforts of SAARCTo encourage individuals and organizations in South Asia contributing to bettering the conditions of women and childrenTo honour outstanding contributions and achievements of individuals and organizations within the region in the fields of peace, development, poverty alleviation,environment protection and regional cooperationTo honour any other contributions and achievement not covered above of individuals and organisations in the region.

The SAARC Award consists of a gold medal, a letter of citation, and cash prize of US $25,000 (₹15 lakhs). Since the institution of the SAARC Award in 2004, it hasbeen awarded only once and the Award was posthumously conferred upon the late President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh.[55]

SAARC Literary Award

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Recipients of SAARC Literary Award2013

SAARC Literary Award is an annual award conferred by the Foundation of SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) Writers and Literature(FOSWAL) since 2001[56][57] which is an apex SAARC body.[58] Shamshur Rahman, Mahasweta Devi, Jayanta Mahapatra, Abhi Subedi, Mark Tully, SitakantMahapatra, Uday Prakash, Suman Pokhrel and Abhay K are some of the prominent recipients of this award.[59]

Nepali poet, lyricist and translator Suman Pokhrel is the only poet/writer to get this award twice.[60]

SAARC Youth Award

The SAARC Youth Award is awarded to outstanding individuals from the SAARC region. The award is notable due to therecognition it gives to the Award winner in the SAARC region. The award is based on specific themes which apply to eachyear. The award recognises and promotes the commitment and talent of the youth who give back to the world at large throughvarious initiatives such as Inventions, Protection of the Environment and Disaster relief. The recipients who receive this awardare ones who have dedicated their lives to their individual causes to improve situations in their own countries as well as paving a path for the SAARC region to follow.The Committee for the SAARC Youth Award selects the best candidate based on his/her merits and their decision is final.

Previous Winners:

1997: Outstanding Social Service in Community Welfare – Mohammed Sukur Salek (Bangladesh)1998: New Inventions and Shanu ­ Najmul Hasnain Shah (Pakistan)2001: Creative Photography: South Asian Diversity – Mushfiqul Alam (Bangladesh)2002: Outstanding contribution to protect the Environment – Masil Khan (Pakistan)2003: Invention in the Field of Traditional Medicine – Hassan Sher (Pakistan)2004: Outstanding contribution to raising awareness for TB and/or HIV/AIDS – Ajij Prasad Poudyal (Nepal)2006: Promotion of Tourism in South Asia – Syed Zafar Abbas Naqvi (Pakistan)2008: Protecting the Environment in South Asia – Uswatta Liyanage Deepani Jayantha (Sri Lanka)2009: Outstanding contribution to humanitarian works in the aftermath of Natural Disasters – Ravikant Singh (India)2010: Outstanding contribution for the Protection of Environment and mitigation of Climate Change – Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne (Sri Lanka)

Anthem

SAARC does not have an official anthem like some other regional organisations (e.g. ASEAN).[61] A poem by poet­diplomat Abhay Kumar spurred a search for abetter SAARC Anthem.[62] Nepal's foreign minister has expressed the need for a SAARC anthem to connect SAARC nations.[63] Nepal at the 18th summit inKathmandu in November 2014 planned to introduce proposal for a SAARC Anthem in the agenda of summit when heads of all member states meet here.[61]

Secretaries­General of SAARC

Abul Hasan 16 January 1985 to 15 October 1989 Kant Kishore Bhargava 17 October 1989 to 31 December 1991 Ibrahim Hussein Zaki 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1993 Yadav Kant Silwal 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1995 Naeem U. Hasan 1 January 1996 to 31 December 1998 Nihal Rodrigo 1 January 1999 to 10 January 2002 Q. A. M. A. Rahim 11 January 2002 to 28 February 2005 Chenkyab Dorji 1 March 2005 to 29 February 2008 Sheel Kant Sharma 1 March 2008 to 28 February 2011 Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed 1 March 2011 to 11 March 2012

Ahmed Saleem 12 March 2012 to 28 February 2014[64]

Arjun Bahadur Thapa 1 March 2014 to (present)[65][66]

SAARC summits

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No Date Country Host Host leader1st 7–8 December 1985 Bangladesh Dhaka Ataur Rahman Khan2nd 16–17 November 1986 India Bengaluru Rajiv Gandhi

3rd 2–4 November 1987 Nepal Kathmandu Marich Man Singh Shrestha4th 29–31 December 1988 Pakistan Islamabad Benazir Bhutto5th 21–23 November 1990 Maldives Malé Maumoon Abdul Gayoom6th 21 December 1991 Sri Lanka Colombo Ranasinghe Premadasa7th 10–11 April 1993 Bangladesh Dhaka Khaleda Zia8th 2–4 May 1995 India New Delhi P V Narasimha Rao9th 12–14 May 1997 Maldives Malé Maumoon Abdul Gayoom10th 29–31 July 1998 Sri Lanka Colombo Chandrika Kumaratunga11th 4–6 January 2002 Nepal Kathmandu Sher Bahadur Deuba12th 2–6 January 2004 Pakistan Islamabad Zafarullah Khan Jamali13th 12–13 November 2005 Bangladesh Dhaka Khaleda Zia14th 3–4 April 2007 India New Delhi Manmohan Singh15th 1–3 August 2008 Sri Lanka Colombo Mahinda Rajapaksa16th 28–29 April 2010 Bhutan Thimphu Jigme Thinley

17th 10–11 November 2011[67] Maldives Addu Mohammed Nasheed

18th 26–27 November 2014[66] Nepal Kathmandu Sushil Koirala

19th TBA 2016 Pakistan Islamabad

See also

SAARC satelliteAsia Cooperation DialogueBay of Bengal Initiative for Multi­Sectoral Technical and Economic CooperationIndian­Ocean Rim AssociationList of SAARC summitsMekong–Ganga CooperationSouth Asian Free Trade AreaSouth Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation

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External links

Official website (http://www.saarc­sec.org/)SAARC Youth (http://www.saarc­sec.org/areaofcooperation/detail.php?activity_id=9)

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2 August 2006.39. Waliur Rahman. "US and S Korea to observe SAARC." BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4900498.stm), 11 April 2008.40. "Iran requests for observer status in SAARC." People's Daily (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?

q=cache:2yvTZFfSXXEJ:english.peopledaily.com.cn/200703/05/eng20070305_354236.html+%22Iran+requests+for+observer+status+in+SAARC+%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us), 5 March 2009.

41. SAARC and Myanmar: Observer Research Foundation (http://www.orfonline.org/cms/sites/orfonline/modules/analysis/AnalysisDetail.html?cmaid=14854&mmacmaid=14855)42. "Russia, Turkey seek observer status in SAARC" (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014­02­16/news/47379655_1_saarc­observer­saarc­summit­observer­status). The

Economic Times. 16 February 2014.43. "Russia, Turkey seek observer status in SAARC" (http://en­maktoob.news.yahoo.com/russia­turkey­seek­observer­status­saarc­091018614.html). Yahoo News. 16 February 2014.44. SAARC The Changing Dimensions: UNU­CRIS Working Papers United Nations University (http://www.cris.unu.edu/fileadmin/workingpapers/W­2008­8_01.pdf), Comparative

Regional Integration Studies45. Russia keen to join SAARC as observer (http://news.oneindia.in/2006/11/22/russia­keen­to­join­saarc­as­observer­1164200695.html), Oneindia News46. SAARC hi nations call for transparency in social sector – Thaindian News (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/saarc­nations­call­for­transparency­in­social­

sector_10024810.html)47. http://www.saarc­sec.org/Regional­Centers/12/48. http://www.saarc­sec.org/Apex­and­Recognised­Bodies/14/49. http://www.saarclaw.org/index.php50. See for this aspect Michael, Arndt (2013). Sovereignty vs. Security: SAARC and its Role in the Regional Security Architecture in South Asia. Harvard Asia Quarterly Summer

2013, Vol. VX, No.2: 37­4551. Jhawar, Shiv (2004). Building a Noble World. p. 44.52. "The Nobel Peace Prize for 2012" (http://nobelprize.org). Retrieved 12 October 2012.53. http://www.saarc­sec.org/areaofcooperation/detail.php?activity_id=554. http://www.saarc­sec.org/SAARC­Visa­Exemption­Scheme/100/55. http://www.saarc­sec.org/SAARC­Award/70/56. [1] (http://www.foundationsaarcwriters.com/literature/saarc­literary­awards) FOSWAL Website57. [2] (http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/books/five­writers­honoured­at­saarc­literature­festival/article1­1024426.aspx) Five Writers honoured at SAARC Litearure Festival,

Hindustan Times March 11, 201358. [3] (http://www.saarc­sec.org/Apex­and­Recognised­Bodies/14/) Official website of SAARC:Apex and Recognized Bodies59. Mahasweta Devi to get SAARC Literary Award (http://news.oneindia.in/2007/03/30/mahashweta­devi­to­get­saarc­literary­award­1175266266.html) Oneindia.in March 30, 200760. Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Saturday, February 14, 201561. Will SAARC have an anthem like ASEAN? (http://www.hindustantimes.com/world­news/will­saarc­have­an­anthem­like­asean/article1­1281988.aspx#sthash.PjRuwc4J.dpuf)

Hindustan Times, 3 November 201462. Indian diplomat's poem spurs search for SAARC anthem (http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report­indian­diplomat­s­poem­spurs­search­for­saarc­anthem­1947907) IANS January 9,

201463. Nepal foreign minister expresses need for an anthem to connect SAARC nations (http://www.business­standard.com/article/news­ani/nepal­foreign­minister­expresses­need­for­an­

anthem­to­connect­saarc­nations­114060601100_1.html) Business Standard, 6 June 201464. SAARC website (http://www.saarc­sec.org)65. Term expires 28 February 201766. "Kathmandu, Nepal to host 18th SAARC Summit in November 2014" (http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/02/kathmandu­nepal­to­host­18th­saarc­summit­this­year/). IANS.

news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.67. http://www.maldivestraveller.mv/news/local/president­of­maldives­invites­indian­pm­to­the­17th­saarc­summit/665/