Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation


Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, is head of a SAARC Secretariat, which is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. SAARC is an economic and geopolitical union between the eight South Asian member nations, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Secretary-General is appointed for a three-year term by election by a council of Ministers from member states. Secretary-General is assisted by eight deputies, one from each nation, who also reside in Kathmandu. SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 by Bangladeshi diplomat Abul Ahsan, who was its first Secretary-General, and was inaugurated by King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. Since its creation, its member nations have contributed to a total of fourteenth General Secretaries. Sri Lanka's diplomat Esala Weerakoon is the current Secretary-General, having assumed charge on 1 March 2020.

Overview

Residence

SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It coordinates and monitors the implementation of activities, hosts meetings, and serves as a channel of communication between the Association and its member states as well as other regional organizations.
Secretary-General is assisted by eight Directors on deputation from the member states, and SAARC Secretariat includes officials from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Regional Centres

SAARC Secretariat is supported by following regional centers established in member states to promote regional co-operation. These centers are managed by governing boards composed of representatives from all the member states, the SAARC Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Host Government. The Director of the Center acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee.
There have been 12 democratically elected holders of the office of Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Bangladesh held the first summit in Dhaka, where the Bangladeshi diplomat, Abul Ahsan was elected its first Secretary-General. Since then, 11 more General Secretaries have been selected from each member nation, so far with the exception of Afghanistan.

Secretaries General of the SAARC


List of appointees to Secretary-General of the SAARC


Secretary-GeneralsPortraitDates in OfficeState of OriginNotes
Abul Ahsan16 January 1985 – 15 October 1989Served as Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, the UNESCO, and the OIC.
K.Kishore Bhargava17 October 1989 – 31 December 1991Emigrated to Canada in 1998.
Ibrahim Zaki1 January 1992 – 31 December 1993 MaldivesContinuation of ministerial appointments in the Maldives government until 2003.
Yadav K. Silwal1 January 1994 – 31 December 1995 NepalServed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Naeem Hasan1 January 1996 – 31 December 1998Served as Pakistan Ambassador to Sweden until 2001.
Nihal Rodrigo1 January 1999 – 10 January 2002 Sri Lanka
Q.A. Rahim11 January 2002 – 28 February 2005
Chenkyab Dorji1 March 2005 – 29 February 2008Continuation of appointments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan.
Sheel Sharma1 March 2008 – 28 February 2011Served in the Indian DAE, the AECI and as the Permanent Representative to the IAEA.
Fathimath Saeed1 March 2011 – 11 March 2012 MaldivesResigned from the post in 2012.
Ahmed Saleem12 March 2012 – 28 February 2014 MaldivesServed as High Commissioner of Maldives to Pakistan from June 2015 - February 2020
Arjun Bahadur Thapa1 March 2014 – 1 March 2017 NepalFormer Foreign Secretary of Nepal
Amjad Hussain B. Sial1 March 2017 – 1 March 2020 PakistanFormer Special Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad
Esala Weerakoon1 March 2020 – present Sri LankaFormer Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Development