1. The idea of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) was proposed by the then Bangladesh ruler, Zia ul Rehman in 1979.
2. SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. This organization promotes the development of economic and regional integration.
3. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu (Nepal). The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal.
4. Initially there were 7 members in the SAARC but Afghanistan joined it on April 3, 2007. Now it has 8 members which include; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
5. India is the most populous country among the SAARC nations.
6. All the members of the SAARC have HDI rank above 100 but Sri Lanka is the only member of the SAARC which has an HDI rank below 100. HDI rank of Sri Lanka is 73.
7. The SAARC theme for the FY 2016-17 was the Year of Cultural Heritage. Year for girls was the theme of 1990, Year for Environment- 1992, and Year of Good Governance was the theme of 2008.
8. Abul Ahsan is the first Secretary-General of SAARC.
9. H.E. Esala Ruwan Weerakoon of Sri Lanka is the current Secretary-General of SAARC. He assumed the office of the Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on 01 March 2020.
10. Mr.Kant Kishore Bhargava (1989) and Sheel Kant Sharma (2008) are the only two Indians who became the Secretary-General of SAARC.
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