The Council may also meet in extraordinary circumstances by agreement of Member States. After consultations, the foreign secretaries of the seven founding countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—met for the first time in Colombo in April 1981. As President, can you change the game? The SAARC, established in 1985, seeks to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia, promote active collaboration and mutual assistance, and cooperate with international and regional organizations. Priorities include regional stability, poverty alleviation, human rights, sustainable development, good governance and labour rights. The Committee provides overall monitoring and coordination, determines priorities, mobilizes resources, and approves projects and financing. The Standing Committee may also set up Action Committees comprising Member States concerned with implementation of projects per Article VII of the Charter. The Council, comprising the Foreign Ministers of Member States, generally meets twice a year. They expressed the conviction that more needed to be done and at a far greater pace. In the Summit declaration, the Heads of State or Government were of the view that stability, peace, and security in South Asia should be promoted together with efforts to improve the global security environment. They agreed that global nonproliferation goals could not be achieved in the absence of progress towards nuclear disarmament and in this context called upon all nuclear weapon States (NWS), whether party or non-party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to engage constructively through a transparent and credible process of negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament (CD). New SAARC treaty aims to strengthen disaster cooperation in South Asia. The Heads of State or Government again underscored the importance of controlling terrorism in the region, calling on deepened cooperation and improvements on implementing the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and the Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention. The Fourteenth Summit, held on 3 — 4 April, welcomed the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as a full fledged member of SAARC. Cooperation in the SAARC Region: Potential, Constraints, and Policies", RIS embarked on producing the South Asia Development and Cooperation Report in the late 1990s. 1776 Eye Street, NW The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion, or coercion; 3. FDI in South Asia: A Brief Overview 3. The Heads of State or Government were unanimous in recognizing the distinct ominous link between terrorism, drug-trafficking, money laundering, and other trans-national crimes and emphasized the need to coordinate efforts at the national and regional levels to strengthen the global response to this serious challenge and threat to international security. This Treaty shall be signed by the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the … They recognized that global nonproliferation goals could not be achieved in the absence of progress towards nuclear disarmament and in this context called upon all NWS, whether party or non-party to the NPT, to engage constructively through a transparent and credible process of negotiations at the CD. These have contributed to the receding of the threat of nuclear confrontation and to agreements on disarmament measures. Ministers also approved the nomination of Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorj of Bhutan as the next SAARC Secretary-General. ENDNOTES. 4. Email: [email protected] In South Asia, however, these institutions are virtually absent largely owing to the rivalry between India and Pakistan. 4 January 2004 | Publisher: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) | Document type: Multilateral Treaties/Agreements. South Africa’s accession to ASEAN cooperation treaty a first for sub-Saharan Africa By Salman Al Farisi • 8 November 2020 Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor. Kathmandu, Nepal Leaders expressed satisfaction at the ratification of the Additional Protocol to the SAARC Convention on Suppression of Terrorism by all member states and called for establishing effective mechanisms for its implementation. The Member States hoped that these developments would restrain the pursuit of military power in all areas of the world and expressed hope that the peace dividend would be used for promoting the further development of developing countries. The Fifty-eighth Session of the Programming Committee of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) commenced in virtual mode, this morning. •More recently, the Mahakali treaty of 1996 11 29-31) 8 Dash, The Political economy of Regional Cooperation in South Asia , p. 187. The States also called for the early conclusion in the Geneva CD of a CTBT and a Convention to Ban Chemical Weapons, declared their intention to continue their efforts to contribute to the implementation of the objective of halting the nuclear arms race and eliminating nuclear weapons, and declared their resolve to support every effort to conclude a treaty prohibiting vertical and horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons. They called upon the international community to assist Member States of SAARC to deal effectively with the adverse economic effects of terrorism in general and to meet the rising insurance and security-related costs in particular. Note: As of April 2007, this file will no longer be updated. He succeeded Sri Lanka's Nihal Rodrigo, who completed a three-year term. The Ministers reached a consensus regarding the text of an Additional Protocol to the 1987 SAARC Regional Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism which addresses issues involving the funding of terrorism. They also engaged in discussion regarding poverty alleviation; financial cooperation; and energy, environmental; and social issues. The Heads of State or Government at their First SAARC Summit held in Dhaka on 7-8 December adopted the Charter formally establishing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). focal point of Pakistan’s foreign policy remained in cooperation with the regional countries for the uplift of its security needs; not withstanding that Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) were American sponsored. They committed to strengthen cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The ANZUS Treaty was formed in 1951. Non-interference in the int… Background 2. Foreign ministers of the SAARC States met in Islamabad for the 25th session of the Council of Ministers meeting from 20-21 July. The Member States urged all NWS to collectively endeavor to attain the ultimate goal of complete elimination of nuclear arsenals in the shortest possible time. Copyright 2021. The 13th Annual SAARC Summit was held in Dhaka from 12-13 November. The efforts of the countries of South Asia, were successful, when the South Asian association for regional cooperation was formally launched in December 1985 with the specific aim of promoting regional economic cooperation among the seven member States— India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. They expressed their determination to unite in their efforts to prevent and combat terrorism, noting United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 in this regard. China, Japan, European Union, Republic of Korea United States of America, and Iran were welcomed as observers. China and Japan were granted observer status at the same. The Secretariat comprises the secretary-general, seven directors, and the general services staff. analyzes the opportunities provided by the treaties for cooperation between India, Bangladesh, and Nepal in the area of water re-sources management. They noted that the great power rivalry, which the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) had consistently opposed, no longer posed a serious threat and the danger of a global nuclear conflagration had abated. I. They also stressed that terrorism violates the United Nations and SAARC charters and reaffirmed their commitment to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression on Terrorism in addition to other relevant international conventions to which they are party. Convinced that regional cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA is mutually beneficial, desirable and necessary for promoting the welfare and improving the quality of life of the peoples of the region; 5. The Member States of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Parties to the present Convention.