7.3. Evolution

♤ The idea of SAARC itself was put on the table by Bangladeshi leader Ziaur Rehman in the late 1970’s and it was Bangladesh which had actually pushed forward the idea of SAARC at initial stages.

♤ Dhaka pursued the idea of SAARC initially with a view to containing the “hegemony” of India in South Asia, a view fuelled by the structural asymmetry between India and its smaller South Asian neighbors.♤ Pakistan also was not very enthusiastic about SAARC since its inception as it knew that ♤ Small countries Apprehensive on Trade: The smaller countries on the other hand were not 7.3.2. The SAARC Agenda 7.3.3. Principles of the SAARC Charter 7.3.4. SAARC Regional Centres Since 1989, a number of Regional Centres with specific mandates have been established to strengthen and promote regional cooperation. The Regional Centres implement programme activities and are expected to evolve into Centres of excellence in their respective areas.♤ SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Islamabad SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Colombo, Sri Lanka ♤ SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu ♤ SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), Delhi, India