Page 185 - Social Studies 7

other office assistants. The general secretary is appointed as per the consent of
the member nations alphabetically for three years.

Finance

The SAARC has managed its financial sources from various ways. The following
are expense borne by the member countries in percentage for various purposes.
Countries Share of Expenses in percent

India 30.32
Pakistan 22.52
Bangladesh 10.72
Nepal 10.72
Sri Lanka 1072

Afghanistan 5.00
Bhutan 5.00
The Maldives 5.00
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The contributions are announced in the meeting of the standing committee.
Besides the amount borne by the member countries, the organization is supported
by other many countries and organizations. For example, Japan Economic and
Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), European Union (EU), the United
Nations Development Programmes (UNDP), etc. This assistance is used to promote
socio-economic development of Nepal as well as the SAARC member nations.

Council of Ministers

The Council of Minister consists of the foreign ministers of the member countries.
It formulates policy of the organization, take decisions on new areas of cooperation
establish additional mechanism, etc. Its decisions are endorsed by the summit.

Standing Committee

It comprises foreign secretaries of the member nations. It monitors and coordinate
the programmes of cooperation, approves the projects and programmes mobilizes
the available resources and identify the new area of cooperation.

Technical Committee

It comprises technical experts for the member nations. It is responsible for
implementation, cooperation and monitoring the programmes in their respective
area. It works in the area of agriculture, education, communication, health,
environment, meteorology.

185 Dynamic Social Studies and Population Education - Book VII