Press Release
Seventh Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers preceded by the Seventh Meeting of SAARC Finance Secretaries

The Seventh Meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers preceded by the Seventh Meeting of SAARC Finance Secretaries was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 19th and 20th August, 2015 respectively. The meeting was inaugurated by Rt. Hon’ble Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Sushil Koirala. The SAARC Finance Ministers meeting was followed by the Fourth Meeting of SAARC Development Fund Governing Council.

The meetings assessed the progress made in the implementation of recommendations of the Sixth Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers held on 20th August 2013 in Colombo, Sri Lanka including SAARC Development Fund (SDF). It also discussed on the cooperation in trade, economic and financial sectors among the SAARC member states and the way forward for allowing greater flow of financial capital and intra-regional long-term investments.
Dasho Lam Dorji, Finance Secretary led the Bhutanese delegation. In his statement, Finance Secretary urged all the member states to develop a holistic and comprehensive package of actionable measures by exploring the whole range of partnership available for deepening the regional cooperation. He also highlighted the status of macro-economic developments in Bhutan over the recent past and reported the status of cooperation in the field of financial sector pursued by Bhutan under the aegis of SAARC.
In discussion on establishment of SAARC Development Bank, the leader of Bhutanese delegation opined that consideration of a SAARC Development Bank is premature at this stage since SDF is just evolving and needs the support and guidance of all member states in its journey. Following which the member states directed the SDF CEO to prepare implementation strategic plan of SDF activities within the time frame of six months. Further, the meeting emphasized to strengthen the existing social window of SDF and expedite in operationalizing the economic and infrastructure windows.
The Eighth Meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries will be held in Pakistan in 2016.
The Bhutanese delegation included representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance.

 1,565 total views,  1 views today