About SAARC

• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
• SAARC comprises of eight Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987.
• Aims to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia, improve their quality of life, to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development.

Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)

• CICA) is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
• The idea of convening the CICA was first proposed by the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
• The Secretariat comprises of Executive Director nominated by the Chairing country and Deputy Executive Director and Professional Personnel seconded by the Member States.
• It has 27 Member states Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India
  Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam