RAJAGRIHA, 26 JANUARY: The first summit of the South Asian Association of Micronational Cooperation (SAAMC) was successfully hosted by the People's Republic of Arsalania virtually yesterday, 25 January 2025 and was chaired by Supreme Leader Arsal Abbas Mirza.
SAAMC was established on 2 October 2024 by the adoption of the SAAMC Declaration by the five member states are months of deliberation to succeed the former regional organisation, the Association of South Asian Micronations (ASAM) which was dissolved in 2023. The member states of the organisation include Arsalania, Creek and Lake, Imruland, Mayursia, and Vishwamitra. On 19 October, Supreme Leader Arsal Abbas Mirza of Arsalania was chosen as the inaugural chair while Vishwamitran Minister of Religious Affairs Dinesh Rajagopalan was elected as the Secretary-General. Soon after taking over as the Chair, Mirza reiterated Arsalania's strong desire to host the first summit outlining their vision for the organisation's success. The date for the summit was unveiled in early January.
Despite some last moment technical issues, the summit took place as scheduled and was attended by delegates from all the members states, including King Arthur of Creek and Lake, King Suryadeva of Mayursia, Governor Showib Ahmmed of Imruland, and Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya. The summit was chaired by Supreme Leader Arsal Abbas Mirza of Arsalania. Apart from the heads of state, Arsalanian Education and Technology Ahsan Adil Mirza and Imrulian former Prime Minister Ishtiak Mahfuz Abdullah also attended the summit. Secretary-General Dinesh Rajagopalan excused himself from attending the summit due to other personal commitments, despite sending a statement for the summit which was tabled by the chair.
The summit began less formally with the inaugural address by the Chair who also read excerpts from the statement of the Secretary-General, which was followed by brief statements by all attending heads of state. Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya who was the second among the speakers congratulated Arsalania on hosting the summit and reiterated Vishwamitra's strong commitment towards flourishing the association and leading to its success. The formal remarks were succeeded by formal proposals being laid by member states. Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya tabled three proposals before the delegates, which included an amendment to the SAAMC Charter to include provisions for member states to avoid macronational geopolitical matters and crisis in their dealings with each other, a proposal to expand the organisation by including a special associate membership, and the creation of a ceremonial currency common to all member states and a monetary union. While the first two proposals were unanimously approved by the delegates, the creation of the currency and monetary union faced some opposition and required further deliberation in the future. A proposal to create unique identity cards for citizens and freedom of movement was laid forth by the King Suryadeva of Mayursia. King Arthur of Creek and Lake proposed to conduct a cultural exchange among the member states.
The summit ended with the election of the next chair. The members unanimously elected King Arthur of Creek and Lake as the incoming chair and is expected to replace Arsal Abbas Mirza on 19 April 2025 as his six month term as the chair comes to an end as per the provisions of the charter. Creek and Lake is expected to host the second SAAMC summit during their chairmanship. It is worth noting that it was the first occasion when Creek and Lake was represented at any intermicronational diplomatic summit since their independence in 2023 and also for the first time when King Arthur assumed any organisational leadership.
Coincidentally, Arsalania hosted the final ASAM summit in 2021 and the first SAAMC summit in 2025. It was the first time when the three other members, Creek and Lake, Mayursia, and Imruland attended an intermicronational summit. With all proposals deliberated and adopted, the summit ended successfully crediting to the strong leadership of Supreme Leader Arsal Abbas Mirza.
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