The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is

an economic and geopolitical cooperation among eightmember nations that are primarily located in South
Asia continent.[10] Its secretariat is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal.[11]
The idea of regional political and economical cooperation in South Asia was first coined in 1980 and the
first summit held in Dhaka on 8 December in 1985 led to its official establishment by the governments
of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, andSri Lanka.[12][13] In the intervening years, its
successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states.[12] Afghanistanwas the first to have
been accessed in the physical enlargement of the SAARC in 2007.[14]
The SAARC policies aim to promote welfare economics, collective self-reliance among the countries of
South Asia, and to acceleratesocio-cultural development in the region.[15] The SAARC has developed a role
in external relations around the world. Permanent diplomatic relations have been established with the EU,
the UN (as an observer), and other multilateral entities.[15] On annual scheduled basis, the official meetings
of leaders of each nation are held; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually.[15] The 18th SAARC
Summit would be held at Kathmandu, Nepal in November 2014.[16]

Regional Centres[edit]
The SAARC Secretariat is supported by following Regional Centres established in Member States to
promote regional co-operation. These Centres are managed by Governing Boards comprising
representatives from all the Member States, SAARC Secretary-General and the Ministry of
Foreign/External Affairs of the Host Government. The Director of the Centre acts as Member Secretary to
the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee.

SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka

SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka

SAARC Tuberculosis Centre (STC), Kathmandu

SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi

SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad

SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), Maldives

SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Nepal

SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Pakistan

SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India

SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Bhutan

SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), Bhutan

SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka[43]

Apex and Recognised Bodies[edit]

SAARC has six Apex Bodies,[44] namely, SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), SAARCLAW
(South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation In Law),[45] South Asian Federation of Accountants
(SAFA), South Asia Foundation (SAF), South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC),
Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL)

Hemant Batra is the current incumbent Secretary General of SAARCLAW.

SAARC also has about 17 recognised bodies.[44]

South Asian Free Trade Area[edit]

Countries under the South Asian Free Trade Area

SAFTA was envisaged primarily as the first step towards the transition to a South Asian Free Trade Area
(SAFTA) leading subsequently towards a Customs Union, Common Market and Economic Union. In 1995,
the Sixteenth session of the Council of Ministers (New Delhi, 1819 December 1995) agreed on the need
to strive for the realisation of SAFTA and to this end an Inter-Governmental Expert Group (IGEG) was set
up in 1996 to identify the necessary steps for progressing to a free trade area. The Tenth SAARC Summit
(Colombo, 2931 July 1998) decided to set up a Committee of Experts (COE) to draft a comprehensive
treaty framework for creating a free trade area within the region, taking into consideration the asymmetries
in development within the region and bearing in mind the need to fix realistic and achievable targets. The
SAFTA Agreement was signed on 6 January 2004 during Twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad,
Pakistan. The Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2006, and the Trade Liberalization Programme
commenced from 1 July 2006. Under this agreement, SAARC members will bring their duties down to 20
per cent by 2009. Following the Agreement coming into force the SAFTA Ministerial Council (SMC) has
been established comprising the Commerce Ministers of the Member States.[49]

SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme[edit]

The SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme was launched in 1992. The leaders at the Fourth Summit
(Islamabad, 2931 December 1988), while realising the importance of having people to people contacts,
among the peoples of SAARC countries, decided that certain categories of dignitaries should be entitled to
a Special Travel document, which would exempt them from visas within the region. As directed by the
Summit, the Council of Ministers regularly kept under review the list of entitled categories. Currently the list
included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include Dignitaries, Judges of higher courts,
Parliamentarians, Senior Officials, Businessmen, Journalists, Sportsmen etc. The Visa Stickers are issued
by the respective Member States to the entitled categories of that particular country. The validity of the Visa
Sticker is generally for one year. The implementation is reviewed regularly by the Immigration Authorities of
SAARC Member States.[50]

Awards[edit]

SAARC Award[edit]

The Twelfth top (Islamabad, January 2004) approved the deeply rooted way of acting of the SAARC Award
to great respect and support still waiting individuals and organisations within the part round. The main ends
of the SAARC Award are: * To support individuals and organisations based in South Asia to undertake
programes and activities goings well together the efforts of SAARC * To support individuals and
organisations in South Asia sending in (writing) to the getting better of the conditions of women and
children * To great respect still waiting contributions and things done of individuals and organisations within
the field, range in the fields of peace, development, moneyless condition untroubling, general condition
system of care for trade and partwise working together making the SAARC Award the most having respect
Award in the field, range; and * To great respect any other still waiting contributions and things done, not
covered over, of individuals and organisations in the part round.
The SAARC Award comprises a gold medal, a letter of citation and cash prize of US $ 25,000. Since
institution of SAARC Award in 2004, it has been awarded only once and the Award was posthumoulsy
conferred upon Late President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh.[51]

SAARC Literary Award[edit]

SAARC Literary Award is an annual award conferred by the Foundation of SAARC (South Asian
Association of Regional Cooperation) Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) since 2001 [52][53] which is an apex
SAARC body.[54] Shamshur Rahman, Mahasweta Devi, Jayanta Mahapatra, Mark Tully, Abhay K are some
of the prominent recipients of this award.[55]

Recipients of SAARC Literary Award 2013

SAARC Youth Award[edit]

The SAARC Youth Award is awarded to outstanding individuals from the SAARC region. The award is
notable due to the recognition it gives to the Award winner in the SAARC region. The award is based on
specific themes which apply to each year. The award recognises and promotes the commitment and talent
of the youth who give back to the world at large through various initiatives such as Inventions, Protection of
the Environment and Disaster relief. The recipients who receive this award are ones who have dedicated
their lives to their individual causes to improve situations in their own countries as well as paving a path for
the SAARC region to follow. The Committee for the SAARC Youth Award selects the best candidate based
on his/her merits and their decision is final.
Previous Winners:

1997: Outstanding Social Service in Community Welfare Mohammed Sukur Salek (Bangladesh)

1998: New Inventions and Shanu - Najmul Hasnain Shah (Pakistan)

2001: Creative Photography: South Asian Diversity Mushfiqul Alam (Bangladesh)

2002: Outstanding contribution to protect the Environment Masil Khan (Pakistan)

2003: Invention in the Field of Traditional Medicine Hassan Sher (Pakistan)

2004: Outstanding contribution to raising awareness for TB and/or HIV/AIDS Ajij Prasad Poudyal
(Nepal)

2006: Promotion of Tourism in South Asia Syed Zafar Abbas Naqvi (Pakistan)

2008: Protecting the Environment in South Asia Uswatta Liyanage Deepani Jayantha (Sri Lanka)

2009: Outstanding contribution to humanitarian works in the aftermath of Natural Disasters Ravikant
Singh (India)

2010: Outstanding contribution for the Protection of Environment and mitigation of Climate Change
Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne (Sri Lanka)

SAARC Anthem[edit]
SAARC does not have an official anthem yet as other regional organizations such as ASEAN. However a
poem by poet-diplomat Abhay K has spurred search for an official SAARC Anthem[56] Nepal's foreign
minister has expressed the need for a SAARC anthem to connect SAARC nations.[57]

Secretaries-General of SAARC[edit]
Abul Ahsan

16 January 1985 to 15 October 1989

Kishore Kant Bhargava

17 October 1989 to 31 December 1991

Ibrahim Hussain Zaki

1 January 1992 to 31 December 1993

Yadav Kant Silwal

1 January 1994 to 31 December 1995

Naeem U. Hasan

1 January 1996 to 31 December 1998

Nihal Rodrigo

1 January 1999 to 10 January 2002

Q.A.M.A. Rahim

11 January 2002 to 28 February 2005

Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji

1 March 2005 to 29 February 2008

Sheel Kant Sharma

1 March 2008 to 28 February 2011

Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed 1 March 2011 to 11 March 2012

Ahmed Saleem

Arjun Bahadur Thapa

12 March 2012 to 28 February 2014[58]

01 March 2014- 2017[16]

SAARC summits[edit]
No

1st

Date

78 December 1985

Country

Host

Host leader

Bangladesh Dhaka

Ataur Rahman Khan

2nd 1617 November 1986

India

Bangalore

Jayanth M Gowda

3rd

24 November 1987

Nepal

Kathmandu Marich Man Singh Shrestha

4th

2931 December 1988

Pakistan

Islamabad

Benazir Bhutto

5th

2123 November 1990

Maldives

Mal

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

6th

21 December 1991

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Ranasinghe Premadasa

7th

1011 April 1993

Bangladesh Dhaka

Khaleda Zia

8th

24 May 1995

India

New Delhi

P. V. Narasimha Rao

9th

1214 May 1997

Maldives

Mal

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

10th 2931 July 1998

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Chandrika Kumaratunga

11th 46 January 2002

Nepal

Kathmandu Sher Bahadur Deuba

12th 26 January 2004

Pakistan

Islamabad

13th 1213 November 2005

Bangladesh Dhaka

Khaleda Zia

14th 34 April 2007

India

New Delhi

Manmohan Singh

15th 13 August 2008

Sri Lanka

Colombo

Mahinda Rajapaksa

16th 2829 April 2010

Bhutan

Thimphu

Jigme Thinley

17th 1011 November 2011[59]

Maldives

Addu

Mohammed Nasheed

18th November 2014[16]

Nepal

Kathmandu Sushil Koirala

Zafarullah Khan Jamali

G-8 summits:

th

June
2526,
2010[53]

37th

May
2627,
2011

38th

May
1819,
2012

39th

June
1718,
2013

Canada

France

United
States

United
Kingdom

Huntsville, Ontario[54]

Nicolas Sarkozy

Guinea, Niger, Cte d'Ivoire and Tunisia

Deauville,[57][58] Basseaccepted their invitations for the first time. Also,
[5]
Normandie
the League of Arab States made its debut to the
meeting.[59]

Barack Obama

David Cameron

European Herman Van

June 4 Union
Rompuy andJos
5, 2014
Manuel Barroso
(
Belgium)

40th

June 4
5, 2015

41st

Germany

Angela Merkel

[55]

Malawi, Colombia, Haiti, and Jamaica accepted

their invitations for the first time.[56]

Stephen Harper

Camp David[60]

The summit was originally planned for Chicago,

along with theNATO summit, but it was
announced officially on March 5, 2012, that the
G8 summit will be held at the more private
location of Camp David and at one day earlier
[6] than previously scheduled.[61]Also, this is the
second G8 summit, in which one of the core
leaders (Vladimir Putin) declined to participate.
This G8 summit concentrated on the core leaders
only; no non-G8 leaders or international
organizations were invited.

Lough Erne, County

Fermanagh[62]

As in 2012, only the core members of the G8

attended this meeting. The four main topics that
[7] were discussed here were trade, government
transparency, tackling tax evasion, and the
ongoing Syrian crisis.[63]

Brussels

G7 summit as an alternative meeting without

Russia in 2014 due to association with Crimean
crisis.[64] G8 summit did not take place in Sochi,
Russia. G7 summit relocated to Brussels,
Belgium.[65]

Schloss Elmau[66]

The G8 leaders at the 36th summitin Huntsville, Ontario. Left to right:Cameron, Van Rompuy (European
Union), Harper, Medvedev, Kan,Berlusconi, Obama, Barroso (EC),Merkel, Sarkozy.

Member facts [edit]

These G8 countries represent:

7 of the 7 top-ranked advanced economies with the largest GDP and with the highest national
wealth (United States, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Canada) last century also known as G7 [67]

7 of the 15 top-ranked countries with the highest net wealth per capita (United States, France, Japan,
UK, Italy, Canada, Germany)

8 of 12 top-ranked leading export countries.[68]

6 of 10 top-ranked countries with the largest gold reserves (United States, Germany, Italy, France,
Russia, Japan).

8 of 11 top-ranked economies (by nominal GDP), according to latest (2012 data) International
Monetary Fund's statistics.

4 countries with a nominal GDP per capita above US$40,000 (United States, Canada, Germany,
France).

5 countries with a sovereign wealth fund, administered by either a national or a state/provincial

government (Russia, United States, France, Canada, Italy).[69]

8 of 30 top-ranked nations with large amounts of foreign-exchange reserves in their central banks.

4 out of 9 countries having nuclear weapons (France, Russia, UK, United States).[70][71]

2 countries that have nuclear weapon sharing programs (Germany, Italy).[72][73]

7 of the 9 largest nuclear energy producers (United States, France, Japan, Russia, Germany, Canada,
UK), although Germany announced in 2011 that it will close all of its nuclear power plants by
2022.[74] Following the 2011 Thoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan shut down all of its nuclear
reactors.[75] However, in July 2012, Japan restarted two nuclear reactors at the i Nuclear Power
Plant. These reactors are the only ones currently in operation at this time.

8 of the 15 top donors to the UN budget for the 2013 annual fiscal year.

4 countries with a HDI index for 2013 of 0.9 and higher (United States, Germany, Japan, Canada).

2 countries with the highest credit rating from Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's at the same time
(Canada and Germany).[76]

G-20:

Heads of government[edit]
Year

2008

1st[1]

Dates

November 1415

Country

United States

City

Washington, D.C.

Host leader

George W. Bush

2nd[1] April 2

United Kingdom London

Gordon Brown

3rd[1]

September 2425

United States

Pittsburgh

Barack Obama

4th[2]

June 2627

Canada

Toronto

Stephen Harper

2009

2010

Year

Dates

Country

City

Host leader

5th[3]

November 1112

South Korea

Seoul

Lee Myung-bak

2011

6th[4]

November 34

France

Cannes

Nicolas Sarkozy

2012

7th[5]

June 1819

Mexico

Los Cabos

Felipe Caldern

2013

8th[6]

September 56

Russia

Strelna,[7][8] Saint Petersburg Vladimir Putin

2014

9th[6]

November 1516

Australia

Brisbane[9]

2015

10th[6] TBA

Turkey

TBA

Tony Abbott

Finance ministers and central bank governors[edit]

Locations in bold text indicate the meeting was concurrent with a G-20 summit.

Year

Location

1999

Berlin, Germany

2000

Montreal, Canada

2001

Ottawa, Canada

2002

New Delhi, India

2003

Morelia, Mexico

2004

Berlin, Germany

Dates

Notes

Year

Location

2005

Beijing, China

2006

Melbourne, Australia

2007

Cape Town, South Africa

2008

So Paulo, Brazil

2009

Dates

Notes

Main article: 2006 G-20 ministerial meeting

Horsham, United Kingdom

March

London, United Kingdom

September

St Andrews, United Kingdom November

2010

Incheon, South Korea

February

Toronto, Canada

June

Seoul, South Korea

November

Paris, France

February

Washington, D.C., United

2011

States

Washington,
D.C., United States

April

September

As part of the annual meeting of the IMF and World

Bank[10]

Year

2012

Location

Paris, France

October

Cannes, France

November

Mexico City, Mexico

February

Washington, D.C., United

States

April

November

[11]

Moscow, Russia

February

[12]

States

Washington, D.C., United

States

Sydney, Australia

2014

Notes

Mexico City, Mexico

Washington, D.C., United

2013

Dates

Washington, D.C., United

States

Cairns, Australia

April

Part of the annual meeting of the IMF and World

Bank[13]

October

Continuation of the meeting mentioned above[14]

February

First such meeting for Brisbane 2014[15]

April

September

Labour and employment ministers

2010:

Washington, D.C., United States[16]

2011:

Paris, France[17]

2012:

Guadalajara, Mexico[18]

2013:

Moscow[19]

B-20 Summits
B-20 summits are summits of business leaders from the G-20 countries.

2012:

Los Cabos, Mexico

2013:

Saint Petersburg[20]

2014:

Sydney[21]

C-20 Summits
C-20 summits are summits of civil society delegates from the G-20 countries.

2014:

Melbourne[22]

T-20 Summits
T20 Summits are summits of the think tanks from the G-20 countries.

2012:

Mexico City, Mexico

2013:

Moscow[23]

Trade and Investment Promotion Summits[edit]

2012:

Mexico City, Mexico

ASEAN Summit
ASEAN Summit

Motto:
"One Vision, One Identity, One Community"

Headquarters

Member states

Indonesia

10 states[show]

Leaders

- Secretary General

Le Luong Minh

Establishment

8 August 1967

Website
http://www.asean.org/

The ASEAN Summit is an annual meeting held by the member of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations in relation to economic, and cultural development of Southeast Asian countries.[2]
The league of ASEAN is currently connected with other countries who aimed to participate on
the missions and visions of the league. Apparently, the league is conducting an annual meetings
with other countries in an organisation collectively known as the ASEAN dialogue partners.
ASEAN +3 adds China, Japan and South Korea. The formal summit are held in three days. The
usual itinerary are as follows:

ASEAN leaders hold an internal organisation meeting.

ASEAN leaders hold a conference together with foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional
Forum.
Leaders of 3 ASEAN Dialogue Partners (also known as ASEAN+3) namely China, Japan
and South Korea hold a meeting with the ASEAN leaders.
And a separate meeting is set for leaders of 2 ASEAN Dialogue Partners (also known as
ASEAN+CER) namely Australia and New Zealand.

History[edit]
The First ASEAN summit was held in February 1976 in Bali.[3] At this summit, ASEAN expressed
its readiness to "develop fruitful relations" and mutually beneficial co-operation with other
countries of the region.[4] The ASEAN leaders signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in
Southeast Asia.
On 2nd ASEAN summit held on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1977 was the occasion for the first
summit meeting between Japan and ASEAN. Japan expressed its intention to promote cooperation with ASEAN.[5]
On 9th ASEAN Summit; A meeting on 7 October 2003 on Bali, Indonesia. The leaders of the
members nations signed a declaration known as the Bali Concord II in which theyagreed to
pursue closer economic integration by 2020.
According to the declaration, "an ASEAN Community" would be set upon three pillars, "namely
political and security cooperation, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural cooperation; For the
purpose of ensuring durable peace, stability and shared prosperity in the region." The plan
envisaged a region with a population of 500 million and annual trade of US$720 billion. Also, a
free trade area would be established in the region by 2020. ASEAN's leaders also discussed
setting up a security community alongside the economic one, though without any formal military
alliance.
During the same meeting, the People's Republic of China and ASEAN have also agreed to work
faster toward a mutual trade agreement, which will create the world's most populous market, with
1.7 billion consumers. Japan also signed an agreement pledging to reduce tariff and non-tariff
barriers with ASEAN members.
On the 11th ASEAN summit last 1214 December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Seven main
issues were discussed during the Summit. The issues are:

the spread of bird flu

southern Thailand conflict
democracy in Myanmar
crude oil prices fluctuation and poverty

investment and trade

ASEAN Charter

Immediately after the summit ended, the inaugural East Asia Summit was held.
The 12th ASEAN Summit was originally set to be hosted on Cebu island in the Philippines from
December 10 to 14. However on December 8, organisers decided to move the summit schedule
to 1215 January 2007 due to Typhoon Seniang. Cebu Metropolitan Area (composed of Cebu
City, Mandaue City, Talisay City, and Lapu-Lapu City) jointly hosted varied events of the summit.
The actual conference was held at the Cebu International Convention Centre in Mandaue City
while the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa in Lapu-Lapu City provided accommodations
for delegates and venues for smaller meetings.
At the 12th ASEAN Summit, the member countries of ASEAN signed five agreements pertaining
to continuing integration of ASEAN and enhancing political, economic and social cooperation in
the region:[6]

Cebu Declaration Towards a Caring and Sharing Community.

Cebu Declaration on the Blueprint for the ASEAN Charter.
Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by
2015.
ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.
ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism.

The 13th ASEAN Summit was held from 1822 November 2007, in Singapore. The theme
was "One ASEAN at the Heart of Dynamic Asia".
The key theme of the discussions was set to be on "Energy, Environment, Climate Change and
Sustainable Development". In line with the theme, the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on
Environmental Sustainability was signed at the 13th ASEAN Summit and a proposal to work on a
Singapore Declaration on the Environment was issued at the 3rd East Asia Summit.
The leaders had endorsed the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint which will help chart
concrete targets for establishing a single market and production base in the ASEAN region by
2015.
The summit marking the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-EU ties was held on November 22.
Other documents that had be negotiated and signed:

ASEAN Mutual Recognition Agreement on Architectural Services.

ASEAN Framework Arrangement for the Mutual Recognition of Surveying Qualifications.
Protocol to Implement the Sixth Package of Commitments under the ASEAN Framework
Agreement on Services.
Agreements on trade and areas of cooperation with ASEAN Dialogue Partners.

The 15th Asean Summit was held from 2325 October 2009 in Hua Hin, Cha Am, Thailand.[7] It
involved the Leaders from Asean league of Nations together with their dialogue partners
from People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
A flurry of meetings among Asian leaders on the last day raised the possibility of forging a
regional free trade pact, which is likely to be raised at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) summit in November 2009.
The 16th ASEAN Summit held in Ha Noi, Vietnam 9 April 2010 Towards the Asean Community:
from Vision to Action".
The 17th ASEAN Summit in October 2010 in Vietnam Ha Noi.Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono did not attend the opening ceremony of the Summit this afternoon. He had
to cut short his trip and returned home to oversee the rescue operation in the disaster-stricken
area, after arriving here on Tuesday for a state visit prior to attending the Summit.

The 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta capital of Indonesia.

The 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia at November 2011.

Locations[edit]
The ASEAN Summit is held by its 10 Southeast Asian Countries annually.
Annual meetings of the ASEAN members.
#

Dates

Country

City

1st

2324 February 1976

Indonesia Bali

2nd

45 August 1977

Malaysia

3rd

1415 December 1987

Philippines Manila

4th

2729 January 1992

Singapore Singapore

5th

1415 December 1995

Thailand

Bangkok

6th

1516 December 1998

Vietnam

Hanoi

7th

56 November 2001

Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan

8th

45 November 2002

Cambodia Phnom Penh

9th

78 October 2003

Indonesia Bali

Kuala Lumpur

10th 2930 November 2004

Laos

Vientiane

11th 1214 December 2005

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

12th 1114 January 2007

Philippines Cebu City

13th 1822 November 2007

Singapore Singapore

14th

27 February - 1 March 2009

1011 April 2009

Thailand

Cha Am, Hua Hin

Pattaya

Vietnam

Hanoi

15th 23 October 2009

16th 89 April 2010
17th 2831 October 2010
18th 78 May 2011

Indonesia Jakarta

19th 1719 November 2011

Bali

20th 34 April 2012

Cambodia Phnom Penh
21st 1820 November 2012
22nd 2425 April 2013
Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan [8]

23rd 910 October 2013

24th 10-11 May 2014
Myanmar Naypyidaw
25th 9-11 or 10-12 November 2014

Issues
Thailand
Further information: South Thailand insurgency
Prior to the ASEAN summit, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra publicly threatened to walk
out of the meeting if any member states raised the issue of the Thai government's handling of the
insurgency in south Thailand. He stated "If the topic is raised, I will fly back home".[9] This is
notable since leaders have often shown solidarity with each other over high profile issues such
as East Timor and Myanmar's handling of Aung San Suu Kyi. Furthermore, one of the principles
on which ASEAN was founded is a stated principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of
other member states. Any tension has been kept from the public view and leaders have avoided
confrontational statements in public.
Indonesia (the world's most populous Muslim country) and Malaysia however were particularly
vehement in their condemnation over the Thai government's handling of the events in south
Thailand with a former Malaysian Prime minister going to the extent of suggesting that the
Southern Thai states should be given autonomy power. The Malaysian foreign minister further
was quoted as saying that there is no such thing as absolute non-interference. It is thought that
Thaksin's statement was made following the Malaysian government's passing of an opposition
resolution condemning the Thai government for the death of at least 85 Muslim protestors in
south Thailand.
Laotian spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy stated "I think we have a golden rule, that is noninterference in the internal affairs of each other." He added "It is a courtesy among the leaders,
among the ministers, that if one of the leaders does not wish to discuss a question, all the
leaders will respect it."

Myanmar (Burma)
Also prior to the 2004 summit, Myanmar had taken steps to rehabilitate itself by releasing up to
9,000 prisoners who were imprisoned under the old junta. Myanmar's new leader General Soe
Win attended the conference and foreign minister Nyan Win had already made pre-summit press
releases on Myanmar's continuing commitment for the roadmap to democracy.
Myanmar was due to hold the chair of ASEAN in 2006. This however had created criticism from
various factions. The United States and the European Union publicly announced that they might
boycott any ASEAN-related event if Myanmar was the chair. In July 2005, during an ASEAN
foreign minister meeting in Vientiane, Myanmar decided to postpone its turn. The Philippines, the
country next in line, instead held the ASEAN chair in 2006.

Apart from the US, various ASEAN lawmakers have called Myanmar's membership to be
stripped due to its poor human rights record.[10]

East Timor
Main article: Accession of East Timor to ASEAN
The new nation of East Timor, previously ruled by Indonesia, has had a long struggle with
ASEAN. East Timor, during its long process towards independence, has sought to have observer
status in ASEAN, much like Papua New Guinea, and eventually official member status.
Historically, ASEAN countries supported Indonesia over East Timor, with the Philippines and
Malaysia barring overseas NGOs from participating in East Timor conferences in the late 1990s.
More recently, Myanmar opposed granting observer status to East Timor because of the latter's
support for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In 2002, East Timor was recognised as an observer of ASEAN and joined the ASEAN Regional
Forum in 2005.[11][12] In December 2005, the government of East Timor stated the nation would
be a member of ASEAN by 2011.[13]
The nation's President were already applied for a membership at the 39th Annual Ministerial
Meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers last 2006 held on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[14]Yet the
request were still pending including the independent state of Papua New Guinea.

14th ASEAN Summit and Protests

The 14th ASEAN summit was held from February 26 to 1 March 2009 in Hua Hin, Thailand. It
was originally scheduled for December 2008, but was postponed due to the political crisis in
Thailand. At the summit, the ASEAN leaders signed the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the
Roadmap for an ASEAN Community and adopted various other documents, including the
ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community
Blueprint.[15] The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area was established.[16] It is one of
Asia's largest trade arrangements and covers trade in goods, investment and services, financial
services, telecommunications, electronic commerce and intellectual property.[17]
The summit was reconvened in Pattaya, Thailand on 10 April 2009. This second part of the
summit was to consist of various meetings between the ASEAN members and one or more nonASEAN countries from 1012 April. However, it was aborted on 11 April when hundreds of
protesters forced their way past security forces into the venue.[18] Many of the visiting leaders had
to be evacuated from the venue by helicopter to a nearby military airbase, although none were
injured. The protests were part of the 20082009 Thai political crisis and were not believed to be
directed at ASEAN leaders but rather at Thailand's government.[19]

Free trade
China signed a trade deal with ASEAN.[20]
Between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and
India, a free trade agreement has been set. The initial deal was signed on 8 October 2003 in
Indonesia and the final agreement was on 13 August 2009. it came into effect on 1 January
2010. The latest ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit was held in New Delhi on December 20
21, 2012. As of 2011-12, two-way trade between India & ASEAN stood at US$ 79 billion. This is
considered on of the largest FTAs in the world. Tariffs on over 4,000 product varieties will be
eliminated by 2016.
At the same time, Australia and New Zealand started the negotiation for a free trade deal with
ASEAN. The aim of the negotiation is to significantly reduce trade barriers by 2016.[21][22]

Treaty of Amity and Cooperation[edit]

ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia is open for non-ASEAN states to
accede. It requires the contracting parties to forgo any threat or use of force against each other.

The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN member states determined that invitation to the inaugural East
Asian Summit, the first of which is to be held in late 2005 and hosted by Malaysia, was to be
restricted to parties to the treaty. The Howard Government in Australia, although seeking
invitation, was reluctant to accede to the treaty claiming it was out of date and might conflict with
obligations and rights it had under other treaties. However, with entry to the Summit confined to
parties to the treaty, and with domestic pressure to sign, Australia decided in early 2005 to sign
the treaty on the condition that its rights under the UN Charter are recognised as inalienable.
Upon the announcement of accession,Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was asked
whether or not he considered himself an east Asian, he replied: "Do I consider myself an East
Asian? ... I consider myself an Australian."

BRICS
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To be distinguished from BRIC.

BRICS
(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)

Brazil
President: Dilma Rousseff

Russia
President: Vladimir Putin

India
Prime Minister: Narendra Modi

China
President: Xi Jinping

South Africa
President: Jacob Zuma

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national

economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.[2] The grouping was originally known
as "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are alldeveloping or
newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies
and significant influence on regional and global affairs; all five are G-20 members.[3]
As of 2013, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people with a combined
nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign
reserves.[1][4] Presently, South Africa holds the chair of the BRICS group, having hosted
the group's fifth summit in 2013.
The BRICS have received both praise and criticism from numerous quarters.[5][6][7] Argentina will
participate in the Fortaleza Summit to be held in July 2014 in response to an invitation
by Russia.[8] In that meeting, the BRICS countries will discuss the possible admission of
Argentina as the sixth member country.[9]
The term, "BRICS", was coined by economist Jim O'Neill in his publication, Building Better Global
Economic BRICs.[10]

History[edit]
The foreign ministers of the initial four BRIC states (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) met in New
York City in September 2006, beginning a series of high-level meetings. A full-scale diplomatic
meeting was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 16 May 2008.[11]

First BRIC summit[edit]

The BRIC grouping's first formal summit, also held in Yekaterinburg, commenced on 16 June
2009,[12] with Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the
respective leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, all attending.[13] The summit's focus was on
means of improving the global economic situation and reformingfinancial institutions, and
discussed how the four countries could better co-operate in the future.[12][13] There was further
discussion of ways that developing countries, such as the BRIC members, could become more
involved in global affairs.[13]
In the aftermath of the Yekaterinburg summit, the BRIC nations announced the need for a
new global reserve currency, which would have to be "diversified, stable and
predictable".[14] Although the statement that was released did not directly criticise the perceived
"dominance" of the US dollar something that Russia had criticised in the past it did spark a
fall in the value of the dollar against other major currencies.[15]

Entry of South Africa[edit]

In 2010, South Africa began efforts to join the BRIC grouping, and the process for its formal
admission began in August of that year.[16] South Africa officially became a member nation on 24
December 2010, after being formally invited by the BRIC countries to join the group.[16] The
group was renamed BRICS with the "S" standing for South Africa to reflect the group's
expanded membership.[17] In April 2011, the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, attended
the 2011 BRICS summit in Sanya, China, as a full member.[18][19][20]
BRICS leaders at the 8th G20 summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Left to right: Rousseff, Singh, Putin, Xi,Zuma.

The BRICS Forum, an independent international organisation encouraging commercial, political

and cultural cooperation between the BRICS nations, was formed in 2011.[21] In June 2012, the
BRICS nations pledged $75 billion to boost the lending power of the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). However, this loan was conditional on IMF voting reforms.[22] In late March 2013,
during the fifth BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, the member countries agreed to create
a global financial institution which they intended to rival the western-dominated IMF and World
Bank.[23] After the summit, the BRICS stated that they planned to finalise the arrangements for
this newdevelopment bank by 2014.[24] However, disputes relating to burden sharing and location
have slowed down the agreements.
At the BRICS leaders meeting in St. Petersburg in September, China committed $41 billion
towards the pool; Brazil, India and Russia $18 billion each; and South Africa $5 billion. China,
holder of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves and who is to contribute the bulk of the
currency pool, wants a greater managing role, said one BRICS official. China also wants to be
the location of the reserve. "Brazil and India want the initial capital to be shared equally. We
know that China wants more," said a Brazilian official. "However, we are still negotiating, there
are no tensions arising yet."[25] On 11th October 2013, Russia's Finance Minister Anton
Siluanov said that a decision on creating a $100 billion fund designated to steady currency
markets would be taken in early 2014. The Brazilian finance minister, Guido Mantega stated that
the fund would be created by March 2014.[26]

Summits[edit]
The grouping has held annual summits since 2009, with member countries taking turns to host.
Prior to South Africa's admission, two BRIC summits were held, in 2009 and 2010. The first fivemember BRICS summit was held in 2011. The most recent BRICS summit took place in Durban,
South Africa, in March 2013.[27]

Date(s)

Host leader

Location

Notes

Russia

Dmitry
Medvedev

15 April
2nd
2010

Brazil

Luiz Incio
Lula da Silva

Braslia

Guests: Jacob Zuma (President of South

Africa) and Riyad al-Maliki (Foreign Minister
of the Palestinian National Authority)

3rd

14 April
2011

China

Hu Jintao

Sanya (Sheraton Sanya

Resort)

First summit to include South Africa

alongside the original BRIC countries.

4th

29 March
India
2012

Manmohan
Singh

New Delhi (Taj Mahal

Hotel)

Jacob Zuma

Durban (Durban ICC)

Dilma
Rousseff

Fortaleza[28]

Vladimir
Putin

Ufa[30]

1st

16 June
2009

Host
country

2627
5th March
2013

6th

South
Africa

1517
July 2014 Brazil

7th 2015

Russia

Yekaterinburg (House
Sevastianova)

Guest: Leaders of Union of South American

Nations (USAN)

[29]

Member countries[edit]
Economic data is sourced from the most recent IMF figures and given in US dollars.[1]

GDP
(nomi
nal)

Imp
orts

Life
expectanc
y(years,
avg.)

Popul
ation

Brazil

201,046,8 $2,695.9 $1,26

$256.0 $238.8 $13,62
$846.6 bn
93.5%
86
bn
6.3 bn
bn
bn
3

74.6

.730
(high)

Russia

143,451,7 $2,021.9 $671.

$542.5 $358.1 $17,70
$414.0 bn
99.6%
02
bn
6 bn
bn
bn
8

69.7

.788
(high)

India

1,210,193 $1,824.8 $737.

$309.1 $500.3
$281.0 bn
$3,829 74.04%
,422
bn
9 bn
bn
bn

64.2

.554
(mediu
m)

China

1,354,040 $8,227.0 $1,83 $2,031.0 $2,021. $1,780.

$9,161 92.2%
,000
bn
5.3 bn
bn
0 bn
0 bn

72.7

.699
(mediu
m)

51.2

.629
(mediu
m)

South
Africa

Exp
orts

Liter
acy
rate

Cou
ntry

51,770,56 $384.3
0
bn

HF
CE

Govern
ment
spendi
ng

GD
P
per
cap
ita
(PP
P)

$173.
$101.2 $106.8 $11,37
$95.27 bn
86.4%
8 bn
bn
bn
5

HDI

Potential members[edit]
Indonesia and Turkey have been mentioned as candidates for full membership of the BRICS,
while Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Nigeria and Syria have expressed interest in joining BRICS.[31][32]

Criticism[edit]
In 2012, Hu Jintao, who at the time was President of China, described the BRICS countries as
defenders and promoters of developing countries and a force for world peace.[5]Some
analysts[who?] have highlighted potential divisions and weaknesses in the grouping, including
significant economic instabilities,[33][34][35][36] disagreements between the members over UN
Security Council reform,[37] and India and China's disputes over territorial issues.[6]