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. Golam Sarwar from Bangladesh is the current Secretary-General of SAARC, having assumed charge on 4 March 2023.

Since the Secretary General is Selected from the member countries of SAARC in alphabetical order, it was Afghanistan's turn after Srilanka. But as the Afghanistan has been ruling by Taliban and International Community doesn't recognise the Taliban as the authentic government, Afghanistan's turn has been skipped for this time and the next heir to the post of the Secretary General of the Organization in alphabetical order has been selected the Diplomat from Bangladesh.

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.


 * SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka, Bangladesh
 * SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka, Bangladesh
 * SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC), Kathmandu, Nepal
 * SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi, India
 * SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad, Pakistan
 * SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), Maldives
 * SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Nepal
 * SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Pakistan
 * SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
 * SAARC Development Fund(SDF), Bhutan
 * SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), Bhutan
 * SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka

History
There have been 12 democratically elected holders of the office of Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). 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.