The technical committee of Asian Clearing Union (ACU) has recommended introduction of Euro alongside the US dollar for settlement of payments among its member countries.
The eight-nation union will take the final decision in this connection at the 37th board of directors meeting, scheduled to be held in Rangoon on June 17-18, officials said.
A two-member Bangladesh delegation, headed by the central bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed, will participate in the board meeting.
Each central bank of the ACU member countries earlier sent their opinions to the committee about introduction of Euro as a parallel currency of the US dollar on the basis of the business community's recommendations.
"Transaction rules and procedures will be amended if the board of directors of the ACU accepts such recommendation," a BB senior official told the FE Tuesday.
He also said that all member countries have given positive opinions about the matter and hence the subject has been included in the agenda of the coming board meeting.
A technical committee was earlier formed under the leadership of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to examine the use of a second currency in ACU transactions in line with the decision of the 36th board meeting, held in Dhaka on May 15, 2007.
Central banks of the ACU member countries are the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Central Bank of Islamic Republic of Iran, the Bangladesh Bank, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Central Bank of Myanmar, the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan and Rastra Bank Nepal. Meanwhile, China and Vietnam have expressed their interest to join the ACU for intra-regional trade promotion and cost effective transactions, they added.
Besides, the member of Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC), generally known as Indian Ocean Initiative, have also showed their interest to join the regional forum.
"The ACU secretariat has already taken initiatives in this connection to invite the interested countries to attend the upcoming board meeting as observers," the BB official said.
He also said Belarus, a former member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), has been invited to attend the board meeting as observer too.
Central bank officials of the ACU member countries earlier recommended taking fresh initiatives to invite the CIS countries to attend the ACU meeting as observers.
The governor of the Bangladesh Bank is now the chairman of the Tehran-based union. But the governors of the Central Bank of Myanmar and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka will take over charges of chairman and vice-chairman of the ACU respectively from the ensuing board meeting.
The ACU started its operations in November 1975 to help boost trade relations among its member countries. Bangladesh and Burma, officially known as Myanmar, joined the forum as the sixth and the seventh members in 1976 and 1977 respectively. However, Bhutan joined the ACU December 9, 1999.
The main objective of the clearing union is to promote trade among the member countries by making the transaction easier, economising the use of foreign exchange reserves and minimising transfer costs.
ACU recommends euro alongside dollar in payment settlements
Siddique Islam | Published: June 11, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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