The South Asian region comprising of eight countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) is one of the most densely populated and poorest regions in the world. It has 23 per cent of the world’s population and accounts for a mere 2 percent of world output. The region has 40 per cent of the poorest people in the world and its relatively young population is one of the least literate and the most malnourished in the world. These eight countries are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which was established in 1985. Politically (as in the SAARC member-states), the region covers about 4,480,000 km² (1,729,738 sq. mi.), or 10% of the Asian continent. However, its population accounts for about 40% of Asia. Some or all of Afghanistan is sometimes considered part of the region of South Asia since, due to its geographic proximity, it has shared many historical currents with the region. Recently, Afghanistan has been admitted to the SAARC as a member. Politically, South Asia does not apply only to countries found on the Indian plate, but include other countries due to geographic proximity. The United Nations, for example includes Iran, Afghanistan, and Myanmar in South Asia for its own geographic reasons, while others exclude these countries.
Geographically, the region is bound by the Himalaya to the north and east, and the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal to the south. The Hindu Kush mountains that run through Afghanistan and northern Pakistan are usually considered the northwestern edge of the subcontinent. Geologically, most of this region is a subcontinent because it rests on a tectonic plate of its own, the Indian Plate, separate from the rest of Eurasia and was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. Even now the Indian Plate continues to move northward with the result that the Himalaya are growing taller by a few centimetres each decade. In addition, is also home to an astounding variety of geographical features that are typical of much larger continents, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands in an area about half the size of the United States. South Asia ranks among the world's most densely-populated regions. About 1.6 billion people live there — about a quarter of all the people in the world. The region's population density of 305 persons per square kilometre is more than seven times the world average.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or SAARC was officially established on December 8, 1985 as an association of States whose aims were to "promote the well-being of the populations of South Asia and improve their standard of living; to speed up economic growth, social progress and cultural development; to reinforce links between the countries of this area; and, lastly, to promote mutual collaboration and assistance in the economic, social, cultural technical and scientific fields".
SAARC encourages cooperation in agriculture, rural development, science and technology, culture, health, population control, narcotics control and anti-terrorism. SAARC has intentionally stressed these "core issues" and avoided more divisive political issues, above all the Kashmir dispute which bitterly divides the two largest member states, India and Pakistan. However, political dialogue is often conducted on the margins of SAARC meetings.
In 1993, SAARC countries signed an agreement to gradually lower tariffs within the region. Nine years later, at the 12th SAARC summit at Islamabad, SAARC countries devised the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) which will create a framework for the creation of a free trade zone covering 1.4 billion people. The braod areas of cooperation identified by SAARC are:
Agriculture and Rural Development Health and Population Activities Women, Youth and Children Environment and Forestry Science and Technology and Meteorology Human Resources Development Transport
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