SAARC - South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organization of South Asian nations, founded in 1985 and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasizing collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2007. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. Headquarters are in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Secretaries General

Abul Ahsan January 16, 1987 to 15 October 1989
Kant Kishore Bhargava October 17, 1989 to December 31, 1991
Ibrahim Hussain Zaki January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1993
Yadav Kant Silwal January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1995
Naeem U. Hasan January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998
Nihal Rodrigo January 1, 1999 to January 10, 2002
Q.A.M.A. Rahim January 11, 2002 to February 28, 2005
Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji March 1, 2005 to February 29, 2008
Sheel Kant Sharma March 1, 2008 to present

SAARC summits

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No. Location Date
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1st Dhaka 7-8 December 1985
2nd Bangalore 16-17 November 1986
3rd Kathmandu 2-4 November 1987
4th Islamabad 29-31 December 1988
5th Malé 21-23 November 1990
6th Colombo 21 December 1991
7th Dhaka 10-11 April 1993
8th New Delhi 2-4 May 1995
9th Malé 12-14 May 1997
10th Colombo 29-31 July 1998
11th Kathmandu 4-6 January 2002
12th Islamabad 2-6 January 2004
13th Dhaka 12-13 November 2005
14th New Delhi 3-4 April 2007
15th Colombo 1-3 August 2008
16th Thimphu 28-29 April 2010