South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SAARC comprises 3% of the world's land area, 21% of the world's population and 5.21% (US$4.47 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2021.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation In other languages:
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SAARC Region | |||||||||||||||||||||
Member states Observer states | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Headquarters | Kathmandu, Nepal | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Official languages | English | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | South Asian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Member states | 8 members: 9 observers: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Leaders | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Golam Sarwar | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Establishment | 8 December 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Total | 5,099,611 km2 (1,968,971 sq mi) (7th) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Water (%) | 6.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 2015 estimate | 1,713,870,000 (1st) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Density | 336.1/km2 (870.5/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2022 estimate | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Total | US$14.756 trillion (3rd) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Total | $4.359 trillion (3rd) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Time zone | UTC+4:30 to +6 (AFT, PST, MVT, IST, SLST, NPT, BST, BTT) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Website saarc-sec | |||||||||||||||||||||
SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes economic development and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006. SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union. However, due to the geopolitical conflict between India and Pakistan and the situation in Afghanistan, the organization has been suspended for a long time, and India currently cooperates with its eastern neighbors through BIMSTEC.