South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is the principal regional cooperation body for South Asia. It was established in 1985 and is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. SAARC brings together eight member states: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Afghanistan — the countries of the South Asian subcontinent and its immediate neighbourhood.

Unlike the WTO, World Bank, and IMF, which are global institutions with worldwide membership, SAARC is a regional body, created specifically so that geographically and culturally connected neighbouring countries could cooperate directly with one another on shared concerns, rather than only interacting through global forums. Its objectives reflect this regional focus. SAARC aims 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 across the region; to strengthen collective self-reliance among member countries, so that the region as a whole is less dependent on outside powers for its development; to promote mutual trust, understanding, and appreciation of one another's problems among member states, recognising that regional cooperation depends on countries first understanding each other's circumstances and constraints; and to promote active cooperation and mutual assistance in the economic, social, technical, and scientific fields, giving the broad goal of regional welfare concrete, practical channels to work through. …