KATHMANDU
The official journey of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) started in 1985 when seven states namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives formed this regional platform. Later in 2007, Afghanistan joined SAARC. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are island states among the eight SAARC members. On the other hand, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan are landlocked countries. Realising that the unprecedented progress that other regions of the world have made by increasing regional communication and cooperation, the same development of this region is possible if the communication and cooperation between the states in this region can be increased to the desired level.
Comparing SAARC with other blocs
The EU, ASEAN, GCC and other regional blocs have achieved prosperity by joining the regional alliances. Citizens of these regional alliances excluding some member states are not required to obtain visas if they wish to travel from one allied country to another. Citizens of these regions can travel from one country to another by road, rail, sea or air without any hindrance in their respective territories. Even citizens of these regions can travel from one country to another in private cars. These regional alliances give more importance to regional trade in the development of their respective regions. It accelerated the development of these regions to increase regional trade.
After the establishment of SAARC, it was hoped that citizens of one country w