Regional cooperation in South Asia can be traced back to the Colombo Plan which was formed under the aegis of the Commonwealth. In 1967, the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) was formed in Southeast Asia, which inspired the governments of South Asia. By the late 1970s, there was growing talk of forming a distinct South Asian regional body with a distinctly South Asian regional character. These talks were pioneered by former president Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh.
Between 1977 and 1980, president Zia undertook several trips to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal to discuss the idea of a South Asian regional body akin to Asean. In December 1977, Zia presented a formal proposal to the King of Nepal, the prime minister of India, and the president of Pakistan for regional cooperation, including an overland trade route between Pakistan and Bangladesh through India. Zia was partly motivated by a desire to reorient Bangladesh’s foreign policy away from over reliance on India given that Indo-Bangla relations were much more lukewarm in the late 1970s. Zia wanted to diversify Bangladesh’s allies and strategic partners. Zia was also inspired by the formation of Asean next door in Southeast Asia.
Zia promoted peace in the sub-continent as a precondition to welfare and prosperity. Zia discussed his ideas with Indian premier Moraji Desai and foreign minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his visit to India in December 1977. He also held talks with the King of Nepal. The Indian government was receptive to the notion of a South Asian regional body because Moraji Desai had been elected on a plank of improving relations with India’s neighbors. Desai led the first non-Congress government in India’s history. In the joint statement issued at the end of Zia’s visit to New Delhi, India and Bangladesh announced their commitment towards a “zone of peace” in South Asia. King Birendra of Nepal strongly backed Zia’s efforts for the creation of a regional body. Sri Lanka, Bhutan and The Maldives also became keen supporters. In 1979, Zia discussed the idea further with regional leaders on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Summit in Zambia and the Non-Aligned Summit in Cuba.
The foreign ministry in Dhaka played a key role in pioneering Saarc. The original proposal was drafted by Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shah AMS Kibria, who had earlier served as the founding director of the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) in 1964 which was set up by Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan (including East Pakistan). Kibria was the Foreign Secretary between 1978 and 1981 under then president Zia (he later became Director General of UNESCAP under President Ershad and Finance Minister under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina). Kibria was a key influence on Zia’s efforts to create a pan-South Asian organization. Other diplomatic stalwarts in the foreign ministry at the time included Ambassadors Farooq Sobhan, Faruq Choudhury, Humayun Rashid Choudhury, Ali Kaiser Hasan Morshed, and Khwaja Kaiser among others. Then US president Ronald Reagan had later credited the efforts of Bangladeshi diplomats for the creation of Saarc.
On May 2, 1980, Zia wrote a letter to the leaders of all South Asian countries which was delivered by special envoys to each capital in the sub-continent. In the letter, he called for the creation of a regional institution along the lines of Asean which would promote economic cooperation in South Asia. Regional leaders responded to the letter with detailed proposals of their own. These responses were evaluated by the foreign ministry and a concept paper titled “Paper on the Proposal for Regional Cooperation in South Asia” was drafted and circulated among South Asian foreign ministries. Subsequently, Sri Lanka convened a meeting of foreign secretaries from all South Asian countries on February 13, 1981.
The first Saarc summit was held in Dhaka in 1985
In the words of Ambassador Faruq Choudhury: “The first indication of the encouraging response of the six governments was available at an informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the seven countries during the non-aligned foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi in 1981.” The foreign secretaries of the seven countries met again in Colombo in April 1981 just weeks before Zia’s assassination. India approached the idea of a South Asian summit with great caution and emphasized that considerable side work had to be done before realizing the goal of a summit. The second meeting of the foreign secretaries was a crucial turning point in which South Asian diplomats hammered out the details and modus operandi of what was to come.
By many accounts, India and Pakistan were less enthusiastic about the concept than Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. South Asia has been the least integrated region in the world. A regional body presented the chance to not only integrate the nation-states of the sub-continent, but also to redefine the balance of power towards a more equitable and cooperative state of affairs. It would also provide a platform for the two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, to engage multilaterally.
In August 1983, the foreign ministers of the seven countries gathered in New Delhi. Their meeting was the “first of its kind” in the region bringing together foreign ministers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Those who attended the meeting recalled that it was “remarkable for the atmosphere of cordiality and comradeship that pervaded it.” The foreign ministers adopted the Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation. When President Ershad met Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1983, Reagan noted that Bangladesh “took the lead in establishing the South Asian Regional Cooperation Organization, a body designed to build a more prosperous and stable region for the people of South Asia. Bangladesh's foreign policy has exhibited an activism, moderation, and force of moral conviction which has earned the respect of the world.”
The first Saarc summit was held in Dhaka in 1985. The summit was held at the newly built parliament building of Bangladesh which served as a fitting tribute to the democratic values of the peoples of South Asia. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was founded with seven founding members, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. President Ershad was the host of the summit which was attended by prime minister Rajiv Gandhi of India, president Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan, president JR Jayawardene of Sri Lanka, king Birendra of Nepal, king Wangchuck of Bhutan, and president Gayoom of the Maldives.
The Dhaka Declaration was adopted at this inaugural summit. For their retreat, the seven leaders went on a river cruise on the Buriganga River. The Saarc Secretariat was established in Kathmandu while ambassador Abul Ahsan from Bangladesh became the first Secretary-General of Saarc.
Umran Chowdhury works in the legal field.This article previously appeared in the author’s Substack. This article originally appeared in the author’s Substack.
