ECONOMIC COOPERATION AMONG SAARC MEMBER COUNTRIES:PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which was established in 1985
at Dhaka owes its birth to the pioneering initiative taken by the Late President Zia Ur Rahman of
Bangladesh. It was initially a group of seven South Asian countries, viz., India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives, and expanded to include Afghanistan as the
eighth member in the SAARC Summit held in Dhaka on November 13, 2005. The assumption of
SAARC was that a common culture, civilization and heritage among all the seven post colonial
states of South Asia would bring about unity and cooperation among them, gradually brining about
social and economic development in the region.