Charter of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

The foreign ministers of the seven founding Member States – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – signed the Declaration on South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in New Delhi on August 2, 1983. Following this, the SAARC was established on December 8, 1985, in Dhaka, by a signing of its Charter. The Association’s Secretariat was established in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 17, 1987. The signatories of the Charter were the heads of state of the seven founding member countries. These included Hussain Muhammad Ershad (Bangladesh), Jigme Singye Wangchuck (Bhutan), Rajiv Gandhi (India), (Maumoon Abdul Gayoon (Maldives), Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (Nepal), Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (Pakistan), and Junius Richard Jayewardene (Sri Lanka). Afghanistan – the eighth Member State – joined the Association during its 14th summit, on April 3, 2007. In its Preamble, the Charter expresses the desire of the Member States to follow the principles laid out in the Charter of the United Nations. It also outlines the Association’s respect for “sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence, non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States.” Towards this aim of regional cooperation, the Charter lays out certain objectives, principles and institutional as well as financial arrangements...