Saarc Finance to help promote welfare

Network to make available liquidity, help exchange knowledge

KARACHI: Speaking at the 30th Saarc Finance group meeting in Dhaka on Friday, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra said the philosophy behind cooperation among member central banks is to promote collective welfare in the region.

“In this context, the Saarc Finance network can play an important role in promoting cooperation among member countries,” he added.

The meeting was attended by central bank governors and finance secretaries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc). It was hosted by Bangladesh Bank.

In his speech, Wathra, while thanking all members for entrusting the SBP the task to lead the group, highlighted some of the initiatives undertaken by the network.

These included the availability of short-term liquidity for member countries under the banner of Saarc, capacity-building programmes under the scholarship scheme, exchange of knowledge on issues of mutual interest through Saarc Finance portal, creation of a regional database and collaborative research studies.

The major issues deliberated upon during the meeting were Saarc Finance database-way forward, modalities for collaborative research studies by Saarc Finance member countries, proposal for identifying areas of regional cooperation and integration, which would eventually act as the roadmap for Saarc Finance.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th,  2015.

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