16th SAARC summit to be held in Bhutan. Bhutan is hosting 16th SAARC Summit at its capital Thimpu from April 28-29, 2010. Aal the members have confirmed their participation at the Summit. Bhutan is hosting the summit for the first time since its inception as a regional body, as Maldives expressed inability to host the same.

SAARC University is likely to come into operation in August after giving final nod to all legal, institutional and financial aspects during the 16th Regional Summit in Thimpu, Bhutan in April, 2010. The university will be based in New Delhi.

A governing board has been set up to run the university consisting of 16 members, 2 members from each member states. The first chairperson of the governing board is Prof. G. K. Chadha, former VC of JNU, from India.

SAARC University is the brainchild of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who floated the idea at the 13th Summit following an inter-governmental agreement signed at the 14th summit in New Delhi in 2008. The project is being executed jointly by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in consultation with the University Grants Commission and the Department of Education of the Human Resources Development Ministry.

9th SAARC Trade Fair was held in Thimpu, Bhutan from 11 – 14 September, 2009. Theme of the Trade Fair was “Partnership for Growth for our People”.

The holding of SAARC Trade Fairs has become a regular feature since 1996 when the first Trade Fair was held in India. The Trade Fairs are one of the important vehicles for promoting intra-SAARC trade.

SAARC Trade Fair is an annual event held in different member countries to promote intra-regional trade and enhance economic cooperation. The region's businessmen, industrialists, entrepreneurs and policy makers come together to forge business links and investments for accelerated economic growth and wellbeing of its peoples as enshrined in the Charter.

The Latest event attracted manufacturers, exporters, trading organizations, women entrepreneurs and micro enterprises, which are in the business of Engineering Products and other products like herbal products, leather products, jute & plastic items, handicraft, jewellery & semi precious costumes, furniture & furnishings and many other products manufactured and marketed within the SAARC Region.

The Twenty-fourth Anniversary of founding of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was celebrated on 8th December, 2009 by all Member States, the SAARC Secretariat, its Regional Centres as well as its Apex and Recognized Bodies by organizing various activities.

The SAARC Charter was signed by the Heads of State or Government of the Member States on 8 December 1985 in Dhaka with the objectives of promoting welfare of the peoples of South Asia and improving the quality of their lives through acceleration of economic growth, social progress and cultural development.

His Excellency Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma, Secretary General of SAARC, hosted a reception in Kathmandu to mark the event.  The Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers of the Government of Nepal, heads of constitutional bodies, members of Diplomatic Corp, and representatives from the business community, civil society and media, and professionals from different walks of life were invited to attend the function.

The Heads of State/Government of the Member States of SAARC issued special messages to commemorate the SAARC Charter Day.  On this auspicious occasion, Secretary General of SAARC also issued a special message.

The eight meeting of SAARC Environmental Ministers took place in New Delhi from 20 – 21 October, 2009. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Government of India.

The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to implement the various components of the 1997 SAARC Plan of Action on Environment in a timely manner. They deliberated on the preparation of National Plans of Action for implementation of Comprehensive Framework on Disaster Management and Disaster Prevention (2006-2015) and agreed to convene an Expert Group Meeting to harmonize national reports and articulate a Regional Plan of Action after Member States have completed the preparation of their national plans.

The Ministers considered a draft “SAARC Treaty on Cooperation in the Field of Environment” and decided to convene and inter-governmental Expert Group (IGEG) meeting in New Delhi in January 2010 to discuss and finalize the text of the draft Treaty so that it could be formally adopted at the 16th SAARC Summit (Thimpu, April 2010) for which Bhutan proposed to adopt Climate Change as the theme, during the Summit.

A South Asia Environment Outlook (SAEO) 2009 prepared by SAARC in collaboration with UNEP was launched by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister for State for Environment and Forests, Government of India and Chairperson of the Meeting, in the presence of the distinguished Ministers of Environment from the Member States of SAARC, the Secretary General of SAARC and Dr. Young-Woo Park, Regional Director (Asia and the Pacific), UNEP, Bangkok.

A Ministerial Statement on Cooperation in Environment (“Delhi Statement”) was adopted by the Environment Ministers.

The Ninth Meeting of the SAARC Environment Ministers’ will be hosted by Bhutan in 2010.