SAARC finance ministers meet in city next month

Nazmul Ahsan The finance ministers of eight South Asian nations will hold a two day long meeting in Dhaka next month to find out solution to common economic problems in sluggish investment, soaring inflation and to ensure greater flow of financial capital in the region, officials in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said. The SAARC Finance Ministers Meeting, scheduled to be held from January29 to 30, is expected to yield a consensus on addressing contemporary economic challenges now being faced by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) member countries. The meeting, first of its kind in the history of SAARC forum, will be presided over by Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith. The MoF will organise the high profile meeting, sources said. Operationalising the SAARC Development Fund (SDF) to accelerate the economic growth and social progress is another priority for the upcoming meeting, a senior finance ministry officials said. They said the SAARC finance ministers meeting will highlight on reaching a consensus meant for intra-regional long-term investment and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region to help eradicate poverty. "Issues like tackling high inflationary pressure in the SAARC region, wooing FDI and finalizing guidelines for projects under the SDF might figure prominently at the meeting of finance ministers," a top MoF official said. "Social, economic and infrastructure are three major areas where Bangladesh needs greater cooperation among SAARC member countries," he added. Finance Ministers of SAARC member countries-Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan-will put forward their valuable inputs at the meeting taking into account their own economic needs and possible regional solutions, an expert of MoF said. He, however, said taking decision is not that difficult to accelerate the economic growth of SAARC member countries, than implementing those under a time-bound framework. Establishing SAARC Seed Bank, as decided in the recently concluded SAARC Summit in the Maldives and operationalising SDF that was decided in April last year during the 16th SAARC Summit-could be two milestone decisions at the upcoming SAARC Finance Ministers meeting.