The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a regional organisation promoting cooperation in South Asia, was formally founded in which city?

Introduction / Context:
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, better known as SAARC, is a key regional organisation that brings together countries of South Asia to work on economic, social and cultural cooperation. Questions about SAARC often appear in competitive exams, especially in South Asian countries, and typically focus on its founding year, member states and the city where it was founded. This question checks if the learner can correctly identify the city where SAARC was formally founded.

Given Data / Assumptions:

The organisation is SAARC, which covers South Asian countries.
We are asked to choose the city where SAARC was founded.
The options are New Delhi, Dhaka, Geneva and Thimphu.
We assume that the question refers to the location of the first SAARC summit that established the organisation formally, which is Dhaka in Bangladesh.

Concept / Approach:
SAARC was formally established at a summit of South Asian leaders held in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. While various meetings and discussions took place in different locations before and after, the founding summit that officially created SAARC is widely associated with Dhaka. Therefore, remembering Dhaka as the birthplace of SAARC is important for exams on regional organisations and international relations in South Asia.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that SAARC is a regional bloc including countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan. Step 2: The organisation was formally launched in the mid 1980s through a summit of heads of state or government. Step 3: That founding summit took place in Dhaka, making Dhaka the correct city associated with the founding of SAARC. Step 4: New Delhi is Indias capital and an important venue for later SAARC summits, but it is not the founding site. Step 5: Geneva and Thimphu are important international and regional locations, yet they are not linked to the founding of SAARC.

Verification / Alternative check:
Candidates can verify this by consulting maps and timelines in standard international relations textbooks that show Dhaka as the venue of the first SAARC summit. Many exam oriented books use the phrase SAARC was established at Dhaka to emphasise this connection. Cross checking with a list of SAARC summits confirms that the inaugural summit took place in the Bangladeshi capital, reinforcing Dhaka as the correct answer for this question.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
New Delhi: Although New Delhi has hosted SAARC meetings and is central to South Asian politics, it was not the founding city of SAARC.
Geneva: This city in Switzerland is more closely associated with United Nations agencies and international diplomacy in general, not with the founding of SAARC.
Thimphu: Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, has hosted regional meetings, but it is not the city where SAARC was formally created.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to choose New Delhi because it is a prominent capital in South Asia and often hosts major summits. Another pitfall is confusing the founding city with later summit venues that might be more familiar from news coverage. To avoid such confusion, learners should remember a simple association: Dhaka equals SAARC founding summit. Building short, clear associations for each major regional body helps retain such factual details at exam time.

Final Answer:
SAARC was formally founded in the city of Dhaka.