34th SAARCFINANCE Group Meeting July 12, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The 34th SAARCFINANCE Group Meeting was held on July 12, 2017 in Colombo, Sri Lanka alongside the SAARCFINANCE Governor’s Symposium and on the sidelines of the 46th Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors’ of Asian Clearing Union (ACU) hosted by Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). The meeting was chaired by the current Chairperson of SAARCFINANCE Mr. Fazle Kabir, Governor, Bangladesh Bank (BB). A list of the delegates attending the meeting is provided below. In his opening remarks, the Chairperson welcomed the Governors, representatives from SAARC Central Banks/Monetary Authorities and the delegates from the Ministries of Finance from member countries and SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu, Nepal. He thanked the delegation for their presence in Colombo. He also expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor, CBSL and the CBSL team for their excellent hospitality and arrangements in hosting this meeting.

With these introductory words, the Chairperson requested Mr. Ali Haider Altaf, Director, SAARC Secretariat, to deliver his remarks on behalf of Mr. Amjad Husaain B. Sial, Secretary General of SAARC. The Chairperson appreciated significant benefits from the dialogues on macroeconomic policies, and through sharing of mutual experiences and ideas gaining by SAARCFINANCE member countries. He also made special mention of some recent praiseworthy initiatives of SAARCFINANCE such as SAARCFINANCE Regional Database, Regional Collaborative Research Studies, SAARCFINANCE e-Newsletter, Staff Exchange Program, Scholarship Scheme and Swap Arrangement. After the inaugural speech of the delegates, the Chairperson moved to the agenda wise detailed discussion of the meeting that is included here as well. After proposing and discussing about the Agenda of the meeting, it ended with thanksgiving to everyone.

List of Delegates

Sl Country Organization Name of Delegate Designation 1 Bangladesh Bank Mr. Fazle Kabir Governor 2 Bangladesh Bank Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman Economic Adviser 3 Bangladesh Bangladesh Bank Dr. Sayera Younus General Manager 4 Bangladesh Bank Dr. Md. Ezazul Islam General Manager 5 Ministry of Finance Mr. Moinul Islam Additional Secretary 6 Royal Monetary Authority Mr. Dasho Penjore Governor 7 Bhutan Royal Monetary Authority Mr. Namgay Tshering Director 8 Royal Monetary Authority Mr. Sonam Tobgay Research Officer 9 Reserve Bank of India Mr. S. Ganesh Kumar Executive Director 10 India Reserve Bank of India Dr. Rajeev Jain Director 11 Ministry of Finance Mr. Anwar Hussain Shaik Director 12 Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal Governor Nepal 13 Nepal Rastra Bank Mr. Bhisma Raj Dhungana Executive Director 14 State Bank of Pakistan Mr. Muhammad Ali Malik Executive Director Pakistan 15 State Bank of Pakistan Mr. Muhammad Javaid Ismail Director 16 Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. IndrajitC oomaraswamy Governor 17 Sri Lanka Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. P N Weerasinghe Deputy Governor 18 Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. Y M Indraratne Director 19 Nepal SAARC Secretariat Mr. Ali Haider Altaf Director

Agenda

1. Opening Remarks by Chairperson of the SAARCFINANCE. 2. Adoption of Proceedings of the 33rd SAARCFINANCE Group Meeting held in Washington DC, USA on October 7, 2016. 3. Discussion on List of Macroeconomic Vulnerability Indicators. 4. SAARCFINANCE Database. 5. Collaborative research studies by member central banks – Updates. 6. Roadmap of SAARCFINANCE – Updates. 7. New proposals by member countries for holding of seminars or other activities under the aegis of SAARCFINANCE. 8. Inviting Central Bank of Iran and Myanmar to participate SAARCFINANCE seminars/workshops/symposium as observers. 9. Proposal to make SAARCFINANCE Website more informative. 10. Venue for the 36th SAARCFINANCE Group Meeting. 11. Increase the allocated time for Group Meetings. 12. Other matters. 13. Closing.