♤ South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

♤ SAARC has eight members (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).

♤ These eight nations of South Asia constitute 3 per cent of the world’s area, but house 21 per cent of the global population. India, significantly, constitutes 70 per cent of SAARC’s area and population.

♤ The organization promotes multilateral cooperation and regional integration. It launched