The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and geopolitical organisation of eight countries that are primarily located in South Asia. The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The combined economy of SAARC is the 3rd largest in the world in the terms of GDP(PPP) after the United States and China and 8th largest in the terms of nominal GDP. SAARC nations comprise 3% of the world's area and contain 21% (around 1.7 billion) of the world's total population. India makes up over 70% of the area and population among these eight nations. All non-Indian member states except Afghanistan share borders with India but only two other members, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have a border with each other. During 2005-10, the average GDP growth rate of SAARC stood at an impressive 8.8% p.a., but it slowed to 6.5% in 2011 largely because of economic slowdown in India, which accounts for nearly 80% of SAARC's economy.
The idea of regional political and economical cooperation in South Asia was first raised in 2 May 1980 by Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman and the first summit was held in Dhaka on 8 December 1985, when the organisation was established by the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Since then the organisation has expanded by accepting one new full member, Afghanistan, and several observer members.
The SAARC policies aim to promote welfare economics, collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia, and to accelerate socio-cultural development in the region.The SAARC has developed external relations by establishing permanent diplomatic relations with the EU, the UN (as an observer), and other multilateral entities.The official meetings of the leaders of each nation are held annually whilst the foreign ministers meet twice annually.The 18th SAARC Summit was held in Kathmandu from 26-27 November 2014.
| Headquarters |  Kathmandu, Nepal | |
| Official languages | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Membership | ||
| Leaders | ||
| - | Secretary-General | Arjun Bahadur Thapa[1] |
| - | Directors: Afghanistan | Md Ibrahim Ghafoori |
| - |  Bangladesh | MJH Jabed |
| - |  Bhutan | Singye Dorjee |
| - |  India | L. Savithri |
| - |  Maldives | Fathimath Najwa |
| - | Nepal | Harpal Sing Nepali |
| - |  Pakistan | Ahmar Ismail |
| - |  Sri Lanka | Prasanna Gamage |
| Establishment | 8 December 1985 | |
| GDP (PPP) | 2014 estimate | |
| - | Total | US$9.05 trillion |
| GDP (nominal) | 2014 estimate | |
| - | Total | US$ 2.599 trillion |
| Website www | ||
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