Part of: GS Prelims –Polity and GS-II- International relations
In news:
Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said :
Postponement of the Kathmandu SAARC Summit in 2017 due to heightened tensions between India and Pakistan had brought the regional grouping “to a standstill”.
Successful regional integration both economic and security depends on SAARC becoming fully functional at the highest levels
BIMSTEC is not a substitute for SAARC
Proposed an ‘Economic Integration Road Map (EIRM)’ : a “sub-region”, consisting of the five southern States of India, Sri Lanka (Population of 300 million people and a combined GDP of over $500 billion)
From Prelims Point of View:
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Established with the signing of the SAARC Charter Dhaka
Headquarters and SecretariatKathmandu, Nepal.
Framework of the SAARC:
Respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and mutual benefit.
SAARC comprises of eight member States
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Observers to SAARC, are: (i) Australia; (ii) China; (iii) the European Union; (iv) Iran; (v) Japan; (vi) the Republic of Korea; (vii) Mauritius; (viii) Myanmar; and (ix) the United States of America.
BIMSTEC
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional multilateral organisation.
Members:
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Myanmar
Thailand
Features
Connects South and Southeast Asia
Connects ecologies of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal.
Aims
To create an enabling environment for rapid economic development
Accelerate social progress , Promote collaboration on matters of common interest in the region.
Sub-regional organization came into being in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration
Creating an enabling environment for the rapid economic development of the sub-region.
Encouraging the spirit of equality and partnership.
Promoting active collaboration and mutual assistance in the areas of common interests of the member countries
Accelerating support for each other in the fields of education, science, and technology, etc.
