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SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
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It is regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union in South Asia.
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Founded in Dhaka in 1985
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Secretariat : Kathmandu
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8 Members:
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Afghanistan (Joined in 2007)
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Bhutan
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Bangladesh
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India
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Pakistan
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Nepal
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Sri Lanka
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Maldives
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Myanmar and China are not its members
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Nepal is the current chair of SAARC
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Ten observer states: Australia, China, European Union, Japan, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea, UK and United States.
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SAARC compromises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 9.12% of the global economy, as of 2015
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The organization promotes development economics and regional integration
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SAFTA : South Asia Free Trade Agreement was launched in 2006
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Map: (Dark : members; Light : Observer status) (Taken from Wikipedia. Not up to scale. For educational purpose only)
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Latest Summit:
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Kathmandu, Nepal in 2014
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2016 Summit was supposed to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan. It was cancelled.