On November 4, 2020 Shaktikanta Das, Governor of Reserve Bank of India(RBI) chaired the 40th SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Group meeting in a virtual format. He inaugurated the SAARCFINANCE Sync, a closed user group secure communication network.
Points to be Noted
i.The SAARFINANCE Governors meet twice a year concurrently with the IMF(International Monetary Fund)/ WB(World Bank) Annual and Spring Meetings.
ii.The current chair of SAARCFINANCE is RBI.
Key People
The meeting was attended by the Governors from SAARC central banks, namely, Mr. Fazle Kabir, Bangladesh Bank; Mr. Dasho Penjore, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan; Mr. Ali Hashim, Maldives Monetary Authority; Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Nepal Rastra Bank; Dr. Reza Baqir, State Bank of Pakistan; and Prof. W. D. Lakshman, Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Governor, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) was represented by a senior official of DAB.
Highlights of the 40th SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Group meeting
i.The group took stock of the macroeconomic situation in the SAARC(South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region.
ii.Discussion was made on the current SAARCFINANCE initiatives
iii.The Governors from SAARC central banks reiterated their commitment to continued co-operation and sharing of central bank experiences.
Gist about SAARCFINANCE:
Established
The 10th SAARC Summit of the Head of the States of the SAARC Region that was held on Colombo on July 29, 1998 agreed, in principle, to establish SAARCFINANCE, a network of central bank governors and finance secretaries of the SAARC region.The permanent body got formal recognition of SAARC at the 11th SAARC Summit, held in Kathmandu, Nepal in January 2002.
Objective
To share experiences on macroeconomic policy issues among member countries of the region.
Recent Related News:
On August 29, 2020, the 17th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Economic Ministers Consultations was held virtually which was co-chaired by Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways Piyush Vedprakash Goyal and Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam Tran Tuan Anh.
About SAARCFINANCE:
Established– September 9, 1998
Current Chair– RBI(Reserve Bank of India)
Central Banks in SAARCFINANCE– Bangladesh Bank, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Da Afghanistan Bank, Maldives Monetary Authority, Nepal Rastra Bank, Reserve Bank of India, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, State Bank of Pakistan.
