This article is related to SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) that has 8 members currently. Afghanistan is the lastest country to join SAARC.

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SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)

When SAARC was founded?

  1. November 8th, 1985
  2. December 8th, 1985
  3. October 8th, 1985
  4. September 8th, 1985

Who made the concrete proposal for the establishment of regional cooperation?

  1. Zi Ur Rehman, President of Bangladesh
  2. General Zia ul Haq, President of Pakistan
  3. Mahathir Muhammad, PM of Malaysia
  4. Indra Gandhi, PM of India

Initially, how many countries were the members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation?

  1. 6
  2. 7
  3. 8
  4. 9

When Afghanistan requested for membership?

  1. 2003
  2. 2004
  3. 2005
  4. 2006

What is the abbreviation of SAARC?

  1. South Asian Association for Reverse Cooperation
  2. South Asian Agreement for Regional Cooperation
  3. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperative Organization
  4. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

When membership was given to Afghanistan?

  1. 2006
  2. 2007
  3. 2008
  4. 2009

Which one is the main hurdle in way of SAARC?

  1. Diplomats negligence
  2. India shows hegemony
  3. Apex bodies are not working properly
  4. Regional centers are responsible

What is the capital of Sri Lanka?

  1. Male
  2. Colombo
  3. New Delhi
  4. Seoul

It consists of _________ of world’s total population.

  1. 21%
  2. 20%
  3. 21%
  4. 22%

Which country comes at number first in terms of population?

  1. USA
  2. China
  3. Nigeria
  4. India

Among the members of SAARC, which one is supposed to be affected worst by COVID-19?

  1. Pakistan
  2. Bangladesh
  3. India
  4. Sri Lanka

Following are the member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

  1. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Bangladesh
  2. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
  3. Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Bangladesh, Maldives
  4. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives

How many sovereign states are the member of SAARC at present?

  1. 8
  2. 7
  3. 6
  4. 5

How many countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation are landlocked?

  1. 2
  2. 3
  3. 4
  4. 5

The land locked members of SAARC are Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan. Other five members of SAARC are Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives.

When the twentieth summit was held?

  1. 2016
  2. 2017
  3. 2018
  4. 2019

Where the twentieth summit was held?

  1. Dhaka, Bangladesh
  2. Islamabad, Pakistan
  3. Male, Maldives
  4. Sri Lanka, Colombo

Who was the first secretary general of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation?

  1. Abul Ahsan
  2. Amjad Hussain B. Sial
  3. Zia Ur Rehman
  4. Zia Ul Haq

What was the nationality of Abul Ahsan?

  1. Pakistani
  2. Indian
  3. Nepalese
  4. Bangladeshi

Who is the current secretary general?

  1. Amjad Hussain B. Sial
  2. Ahmed Saleem
  3. Chenkyab Dorji
  4. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon

What is the number of Esala Ruwan Weerakoon as the secretary general?

  1. 12
  2. 14
  3. 16
  4. 18

How many summits of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation have been held in Pakistan since 1985?

  1. 5
  2. 4
  3. 3
  4. 2

Where the twelve summit was held?

  1. Pakistan
  2. Afghanistan
  3. India
  4. Maldives

Who was the PM of Pakistan in 2004 when 12th summit was held at Islamabad (Pakistan).

  1. Zafarullah Khan Jamali
  2. Shaukat Aziz
  3. Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain
  4. Hazar Khan Khoso

Where the first summit was held?

  1. Dhaka, Bangladesh
  2. Kathmandu, Nepal
  3. Thimphu, Bhutan
  4. Male, Maldives

In ________ summit, membership was given to Afghanistan.

  1. 14
  2. 15
  3. 16
  4. 17

Where the 14th, summit of SAARC took place?

  1. Kabul, Afghanistan
  2. Dhaka, Bangladesh
  3. Colombo, Sri Lanka
  4. New Delhi, India

There are ______ observers of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

  1. 8
  2. 9
  3. 10
  4. 11

The union which granted observer status by SAARC.

  1. EU
  2. ASEAN
  3. WTO
  4. UNESCO

Observers of SAARC are ________.

  1. Iran, China, Myanmar, Japan, South Korea, USA, Australasia, Mauritius, EU
  2. Iran, China, Eu, Myanmar, Japan, South Korea, USA, Russia, Mauritius
  3. Iran, China, Myanmar, japan, South Korea, USA, Australasia, Mauritius, ASEAN
  4. Iran, China, Eu, Turkey, Japan, South Korea,, USA, Russia, Mauritius

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation comprises of _________ of the world’s area.

  1. 2%
  2. 3%
  3. 4%
  4. 5%

As of 2019, the organization comprises of _________ of the global economy.

  1. 1.21%
  2. 2.21%
  3. 3.21%
  4. 4.21%

What is the basic purpose of this Regional Cooperation?

  1. To bring revolution
  2. To secure heritage sites
  3. Promote regional cooperation
  4. To challenge the national integrity of its members

Council of ministers of SAARC consists of ___________ of members states.

  1. Foreign ministers
  2. Defense ministers
  3. Secretaries of the state
  4. Presidents

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation has ________ apex bodies.

  1. 4
  2. 5
  3. 6
  4. 7

Where is the headquarter of SAARC?

  1. New Delhi, India
  2. Colombo, Sri Lanka
  3. Male, Maldives
  4. Kathmandu, Nepal

Which country is so called as the Land of Mountains?

  1. China
  2. Nepal
  3. Bhutan
  4. Sri Lanka

The __________ summit of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was cancelled in 2016.

  1. 16th
  2. 17th
  3. 18th
  4. 19th

Where the 19th summit was scheduled but later on, it was cancelled.

  1. Male, Maldives
  2. Islamabad, Pakistan
  3. Kathmandu, Nepal
  4. New Delhi, India

Why India boycott 19th summit of SAARC?

  1. Attack on India army camp in Kashmir and blamed to Pakistan
  2. Mumbai attacks
  3. India shows hegemony
  4. It was scheduled in Pakistan

Which member of SAARC is so called as cluster of islands?

  1. Sri Lanka
  2. Maldives
  3. Indonesia
  4. Singapore

Which member of SAARC possesses highest literacy rate?

  1. India
  2. Sri Lanka
  3. Maldives
  4. Pakistan

Which member of SAARC possesses lowest literacy rate?

  1. Afghanistan
  2. Sri Lanka
  3. Pakistan
  4. India

What is the literacy rate of Maldives at present?

  1. 94.6%
  2. 96.6%
  3. 98.6%
  4. 99.6%

What is the literacy rate of Afghanistan?

  1. 36.2%
  2. 38.2%
  3. 40.2%
  4. 42.2%

What is the literacy rate of Pakistan at present?

  1. 52%
  2. 54%
  3. 56%
  4. 58%

Pakistan is ________ most populous country in the world?

  1. Fifth
  2. Sixth
  3. Seventh
  4. Eighth

CSS Notes

Introduction

  • South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation is an international and geopolitical organization that was established on December 8, 1985 in Dhaka, headquarter based in Kathmandu (Nepal).
  • The first concrete proposal for the formulation of regional organization was made by the Zia Ur Rehman, former president of Bangladesh in May 1980 but officially it was founded in 1985 with seven members: Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives but in 2005, Afghanistan started negotiating her accession to SAARC and requested to get membership and two years later, Afghanistan was given the membership in the fourteenth summit held at New Delhi (India). So at present, there are eight members of SAARC and 9 observers: USA, China, Japan, Australasia, Iran, South Korea, Myanmar, Mauritius and EU.

SAARC Formation

  • SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population (India being second after China and Pakistan being fifth world’s most populous country) and 4.21% (US $3.67 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2019.

National Anthem

  • This regional cooperation does not have an official anthem like some other regional organization e.g. ASEAN.

Secretary General

  • SAARC Secretariat is headed by Secretary General who is appointed by the Council of Ministers of the member states for three years. Council of Ministers consist of foreign ministers of the members states and it meets twice a year but extra-ordinary session may be held by agreement among member states. It formulates policies of cooperation, reviews the progress of cooperation, and also takes decision on new areas of cooperation.
  • The current secretary general is Sri Lankan national, Esala Ruwan Weerakoon (14th secretary general) since March 1st, 2020 and first was Abul Ahsan (Bangladesh national). Fifth and thirteenth secretary generals were Pakistani national; Naeem U. Hasan and Amjad Hussain B. Sial.

Regional Centres

To promote the regional cooperation, SAARC also possessed different regional centers.

SAARC-South-Asian-Association-for-Regional-Cooperation-Regional-Centres

Apex Bodies

SAARC has six Apex Bodies namely:

  1. SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI)
  2. SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law)
  3. South Asian Federation of Accountant (SAFA)
  4. South Asia Foundation (SAF)
  5. South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC)
  6. Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL)

SAARC Objectives

  • To accelerate economic growth and social and cultural
  • development of South Asia.
  • To help understand one another’s problems
  • To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries and regional organization
  • To promote welfare and equality of life of people of South Asia
  • To strengthen self-reliance among countries of South Asia
  • To maintain peace in the region

Principles

  • Unanimous decision making
  • Respect for sovereignty
  • Political equality
  • Respect for integrity
  • Focus on multi-lateral issues
  • All bilateral issues to be kept aside
  • Non – interference in internal affairs of member states

Areas of Cooperation

  • Agricultural and rurual
  • Biotechnology
  • Culture
  • Economic and trade
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • Finance
  • Information
  • Communication
  • Media
  • People to people contact
  • Poverty alleviation
  • Science and technology
  • Security aspects
  • Social development
  • Tourism

SAARC Summits

So far, twenty summits have been held being the first at Dhaka (Bangladesh) in 1985 and last in 2019 at Colombo (Sri Lanka). Pakistan hosted twice in 2004 and 2016 on the occasion of 12th and 19th summits but 19 was cancelled after an attack on Indian Army Camp in Kashmir.

Hurdles in the Way of SAARC

Since SAARC is rich in natural resources and human capital and has huage market and a geo – strategic location,, it has full potential of becoming a full vibrant organization. But there are lots of hurdles in the way of SAARC. Some are mentioned below.

  • Pakistan – India relations have been tensed since 1947 due to various issues like Kashmir, water, Kargal and Siachin issue.
  • Various SAARC countries are facing internal problems like terrorism and extremis, poverty, illiteracy and political instability.
  • Member states also lack commitment.
  • India (the second most populous country in the world) considers itself superior and shows hegemony.
  • Various SAARC member countries have border disputes between them like Pakistan – India, India – Bangladesh, Pakistan – Afghanistan and India – China.
  • There is trust deficit among member countries.
  • There is also lack of social cohesion among member countries due to hard visa policies and lack of people to people contact.

SAARC Conclusion

To conclude, we can say that SAARC has enough potential of becoming a full vibrant organization. Members can cooperate in different areas like biotechnology, economic, trade, education and poverty alleviation. Pakistan can reap full advantage of its strategic location and natural resources. Pakistan needs some pragmatic and result oriented measures. Border issues should be resolved. Terrorism and extremism should be uprooted and effective steps should also be taken to make SAARC a vibrant organization.

For official website of SAARC: Please Click Here

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