Answer: The present chairman of SAARC is KP Oli, the current Prime Minister of Nepal.
Complete Answer:
SAARC stands for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It is a regional organisation formed by eight South Asian countries:
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan
- India
- Bhutan
- Nepal
- Bangladesh
- Sri Lanka
- Maldives.
The purpose of SAARC is to promote peace, development, and cooperation among these nations. The idea of forming such an organisation was first discussed in 1980. In 1981, the foreign secretaries of the original seven countries (excluding Afghanistan at that time) met in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to discuss this proposal. The organisation was officially launched in 1983 when the Declaration on SAARC was adopted during a meeting held in New Delhi, India.
In the beginning, SAARC focused on five key areas of cooperation, which were agriculture, rural development, telecommunications, meteorology (the study of weather), and health and population activities. Later on, more topics were added, such as transport, postal services, science and technology, sports, arts, and culture. Afghanistan joined SAARC as the eighth member in 2005, making the group stronger and more diverse.
The SAARC Secretariat, which is responsible for managing the daily work and communication between member countries, was set up in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1987. The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary-General, who is appointed for a term of three years. The current Secretary-General is Esala Ruwan Weerakoon, a diplomat from Sri Lanka, who took office on March 1, 2020, after succeeding Amjad Hussain Sial of Pakistan.
The present Chairmanship of SAARC is the Prime Minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli. He is serving as the de facto Chairman. The Secretary-General of SAARC is Md. Golam Sarwar from Bangladesh, who assumed office in October 2023
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