Pakistan, China, Bangladesh In Talks For New Regional Bloc With Potential To Replace Saarc

30th June 2025 at 2:40 PM

1 minute read

New Delhi : Pakistan and China are working to create a new regional bloc to replace Saarc, in which India was a prominent member. Bangladesh too was part of the recent meeting to create the new regional bloc that was held in China’s Kunming on June 19, according to the report. The ultimate goal of the meeting in Kunming on June 19 was to invite other South Asian countries, which were part of Saarc, to join the new grouping, Karachi-based The Express Tribune reported.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) was formed on 8 December, 1985, through the adoption of its Charter in Dhaka, Bangladesh. There were seven founding members, while Afghanistan joined the grouping in 2007. Although SAARC leaders haven’t met since the 2014 Kathmandu summit, Indian PM Narendra Modi initiated the first-ever SAARC video conference in 2020 to propose a COVID-19 Emergency Fund.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan also pulled out, citing concerns about terrorism and regional interference. The summit was cancelled—and it has not been rescheduled since. The Express Tribune report said that both Pakistan and China are convinced that a new organisation is need of the hour for regional integration and connectivity.

We are not forming any alliance, Dhaka’s foreign affairs adviser M Touhid Hossain said, when asked for comments about the meeting in Kunming on June 19. It was a meeting at the official level, not at the political level, Hossain said, adding that there was “no element of formation of any alliance. The report quotes diplomatic sources to say that India would be invited to join the new bloc but given its divergent interests, it is unlikely to respond positively.