ACU Board of Directors Meeting held

The 52nd Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) was held at in Dhaka on May 30.

Governor of Bangladesh Bank Abdur Rouf Talukder, the newly elected Chairman of the ACU for 2024, presided over the meeting, says a press release.

Governors of Bangladesh Bank and Nepal Rastra Bank, Vice Governor of Central Bank of Iran, First Deputy Chairman of National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, Assistant Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Assistant Governor of Maldives Monetary Authority and Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India attended the meeting in person while the Governor of Central Bank of Myanmar and Deputy Governor of State Bank of Pakistan joined the meeting virtually.

The Secretary General of ACU Secretariat, based in Tehran, was also present.

Abdur Rouf Talukder, in his welcome address, expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to his predecessor, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, for his valuable contributions towards advancing the objectives of ACU.

He pointed out that besides its core function of ACU intra-regional trade payment settlements, the ACU is also a useful platform for networking and experience sharing on issues of topical interest, including macroeconomic, financial and trade policies.

He mentioned that the economy of this region is consistently growing in recent years despite the challenges of post-Covid-19 pandemic and global geopolitical tensions. ACU intra-regional trade is also growing much faster than global trade growth.

Recent addition of the countries like Belarus and Mauritius will not only increase the trade settlements but also signify this region's heightening stature as a global growth hub, he said.

Inclusive approaches and continuous search for expanding clearing boundaries will increase trade settlements and ease pressure on the Foreign Exchange Reserves Management, he added.

In his report, ACU Secretary General Farhad Morsali Pavarsi reviewed the economic performance of the ACU member countries during the year 2023 with a special note of increase in volume of transaction from USD 51.44 million in 1976 to USD 1,387.57 million in March 2023.

Later, all the central banks presented brief country reports on the economic and financial activities of their respective countries to the ACU Board of Directors.

Central Bank of Myanmar has been chosen to host the 53rd ACU Board of Directors Meeting in 2025.