Forty years ago today, on December 8, 1985 (October 27, 1985 lunar calendar), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was established. On December 8, 1985, at the first summit meeting of the seven South Asian countries held in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was officially announced. Its birth marked a new stage of regional cooperation in South Asia and injected new blood into the "South-South Cooperation" of third world countries. The seven South Asian countries include Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This is the first time that the leaders of the seven countries put aside their differences and sat together to discuss cooperation issues in the spirit of seeking common ground and reserving small differences. At the two-day summit meeting on the 7th and 8th, the representatives of all countries unanimously adopted the Charter of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and issued the Dhaka Declaration. This fully reflects the common desire of the leaders of the seven countries to accelerate the economic and social development of the region. According to the charter, the nature of the alliance is a non-political bloc organization, and its purpose is to improve the welfare of the people in South Asia, promote economic growth, social progress and cultural development in South Asia, promote and enhance collective self-reliance, strengthen mutual understanding among member states, promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in various fields in South Asia, and strengthen cooperation between South Asia and other developing countries and regions in the world. The charter stipulates that the alliance shall cooperate on the basis of respect for sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and mutual benefit; regional cooperation should not conflict with, but only complement, bilateral and multilateral cooperation possessed by member states. The charter also stipulates that the heads of state of the member states shall meet once a year. A Council of Ministers composed of foreign ministers and a Standing Committee composed of foreign secretaries and several technical committees have been established. The headquarters of the alliance is located in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Regional cooperation in South Asia was proposed by the late President Zia Rahman of Bangladesh in 1980. This initiative has been valued and actively responded to by the other 6 South Asian countries. In April 1981, the foreign secretaries of the seven countries held the first meeting in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. The meeting believed that regional cooperation and collective self-reliance are very beneficial and necessary for the countries of South Asia. The meeting identified five areas of cooperation: rural revitalization, agriculture, population control, communications and meteorology. The seven countries of South Asia are connected by mountains and rivers, and share many similarities in geography, history and culture. They are all developing countries. The total population of the region accounts for 1/5 of the world's population, but the gross national product accounts for only 2% of the world's total output. In addition, border disputes, ethnic riots, river water distribution, immigration and other issues between countries have caused tensions from time to time, which have affected the stability and economic development of the entire region. As calls for "South-South cooperation" continue to rise, regional cooperation as a form of collective self-reliance has shown its superiority in other regions. In this context, South Asian leaders recognize that regional cooperation in South Asia can enhance mutual understanding and trust among countries, help ease the situation in the region, and is the only way to promote economic development in the region.