Which of the following groups of countries is the participant member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)?

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC):

Key Points

History:

• The idea was first raised by Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh in November 1980.
• Their first meeting was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in April 1981.
• The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
• The Secretariat of SAARC is located in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Member Countries:

• At that time there were 8 member countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka
• Afghanistan joined SAARC in 2007.
• Myanmar has stated it would like to become a full member of the SAARC

• There are currently nine Observers to SAARC. Russia and Turkey are applied to become observers of SAARC

• Member Countries	Observer Countries
  Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka	1.Australia 2.China 3.The European Union 4.Iran 5.Japan 6.The Republic of Korea 7.Mauritius 8.Myanmar 9.The United States of America

  

SAARC in short:

• Present Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) H.E. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon of Sri Lanka appointed on 01 March 2020.
• The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987

SAARC specialized bodies are

1. SAARC Development Fund (SDF)
2. South Asian University
3. South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) has its Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
4. SAARC Arbitration Council