Upcoming Meetings

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka hosted the 45^th SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Meeting and Symposium during 13-14 June 2024 in Colombo. The event was attended by the Governors, Finance Secretaries, and other delegates from the Central Banks and Ministries of Finance in the SAARC region.

The SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Symposium, themed “Central Banking amid Multi-faceted Global Economic Challenges,” was held on the first day of the event. Honourable Ranil Wickramasinghe, the President of Sri Lanka and Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies, graced the inaugural ceremony and delivered the keynote speech. In his address, the President emphasised the importance of strengthening regional cooperation to tackle contemporary economic challenges and promote growth. He also reiterated the need for monetary and fiscal stability and highlighted the efforts being taken to strengthen the legal framework to ensure lasting stability in the country. The Secretary General of SAARC, Ambassador Md. Golam Sarwar also attended the inauguration.

The day’s proceedings also comprised two insightful panel discussions. Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari of the Nepal Rastra Bank, Governor Ali Hashim of the Maldives Monetary Authority, and Secretary to the Treasury K. M. Mahinda Siriwardana were the panellists on the first panel that discussed “Challenges and Opportunities of Evolving Global Economic Dynamics to SAARC Countries: Sharing Experience”. This was moderated by Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Visiting Senior Fellow at ODI.

The second panel discussion was themed “Revisiting Monetary Policy Processes and Paradigms in SAARC Countries: Policy Puzzles, Solutions, and Lessons Learnt”. The panellists were Governor Dasho Penjore of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah of the State Bank of Pakistan, and the discussion was moderated by Dr. (Ms.) Dushni Weerakoon, member of the Monetary Policy Board and Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka.

The 45^th SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Group Meeting was held on the second day of the event, focusing on further enhancing cooperation and collaboration among member nations on various contemporary economic and financial sector matters.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) - being the Chair of SAARCFINANCE for 2022-23 - organized Governors’ meeting and Symposium in Islamabad during May 2-3, 2023 in order to take ahead the agenda of mutual cooperation in the areas of macroeconomic policy, financial architecture, research, database, and capacity building. In this context, two important events were hosted by SBP: (1) 43rd SAARCFINANCE Governors’ meeting; and (2) SAARCFINANCE Symposium – 2023 on the theme of climate change. SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Meeting The 43rd SAARCFINANCE Governors’ meeting was attended in-person by Governors of Sri Lanka and Nepal, while Governor of Maldives attended virtually. Moreover, the delegates from Afghanistan and Bhutan also attended the meeting in person. Officials from Bangladesh joined virtually. Mr. Jameel Ahmad, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan chaired the meeting on May 2, 2023. In his opening remarks, he welcomed the Governors and other delegates from SAARC central banks; and highlighted the importance of SAARCFINANCEnetwork and its pivotal role in promoting opportunities for shared growth and prosperity in the region. He said that the SAARC central banks needed to move a step forward in the regional cooperation for dealing with challenging economic environment. He said that the SAARC region is also facing difficult times, like many other countries around the globe, in terms of very high inflation, slow growth, pressure on fiscal and external balances and increased incidence of poverty. With the global economy facing the risk of a recession and increasing geo-political fragmentation, the Chair emphasized the forum’s role in providing opportunities to learn from each other’s experiences on macroeconomic policies and the need to fortify regional cooperation and interconnectedness in the face of challenging external environment. After opening remarks by Governor, SBP, the participants took stock of the macroeconomic situation in the region, progress on different initiatives under the SAARCFINANCE forum, including database, financial inclusion, collaborative studies and capacity building. The Forum also discussed and agreed to adopt a formal mechanism for hosting the Database Working Group Meeting and sideline seminar in future. Presentation of SAARCFINANCE Studies After Governors’ meeting, a session was arranged for the presentations of completed SAARCFINANCE collaborative research studies. In the session, Dr. Farooq Arby from State Bank of Pakistan presented the Study on the use of unconventional policy instruments by South Asian central banks. The second Study was presented by Mr. Siddha Raj Bhatta from Nepal Rastra Bank on the prospects of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the SAARC region. The participants appreciated the team members of collaborative studies for very useful work done; and advised SBP to share the studies with all member central banks, and uploading the same on theSAARCFINANCE Portal. Further, it was also agreed to make the Central Bank Digital Currency a regular agenda item of SAARCFINANCE Governors’ meetings keeping in view its significance for central banks and ongoing developments in the area. SAARCFINANCE Symposium On the second day, May 3, 2023, the SBP hosted SAARCFINANCE Symposium on the theme of “Climate Change and Green Financing: Initiatives & Outlook in South Asia”. The Symposium comprised three insightful sessions: (1) an Expert Session with presentations by Mr. Farhan Fasihuddin from International FinanceCorporation (IFC), and Mr. Virender Kumar Duggal from Asian Development Bank (ADB(); (2) Country presentations by member central banks; and (3) a Panel discussion on “The Role of Financial Sector in Advancing Climate Change Agenda and Green Financing in SAARC Countries”. The distinguished panelists included Mr. Yaseen Anwar, former Governor SBP, Mr. Virender Kumar Duggal, Mr. Abdul Rehman Warraich, Commissioner Security Exchange Comission of Pakistan (SECP), and Mrs. Dilrukshini, from Central Bank of Sri Lanka. In his inaugural remarks, the Governor, SBP emphasized the importance of discussing the pressing issue of climate change in general and particularly with reference to the SAARC region. The Governor highlighted the vulnerabilities of SAARC region to the adverse impacts of climate change and its implications on the financial system. He further remarked that globally, financial systems are shifting towards promoting sustainability considerations. Similarly, SBP has adopted a proactive approach to safeguard the financial sector against climate change and environmental risks by undertaking several green initiatives including green banking guidelines, environmental & social risk management (ESRM) implementation manual, and financing scheme for renewable energy. The expert speakers highlighted the impact of climate change on global economy, with particular reference to South Asian economies. They informed that international Financial Institutions (IFIs) are engaged on several key initiatives aimed at enhancing the capacity of the financial sector to measure and manage environmental and social risks, and identify and grow green finance opportunities. The launch of the Green Taxonomy would facilitate the disclosure of taxonomy-aligned activities and offerings of green finance products such as loans, bonds and funds by market participants. They also highlighted the role of IFC and ADB in helping members develop green finance strategies. The Country paper presenters shared their respective country experiences on climate change and green financing. In particular, they highlighted that the climate change can have far-reaching effects throughout the financial system, affecting banks, businesses, and insurers etc., potentially leading to systemic risk. In this context, green financing has emerged as a crucial means of driving climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. The panelists shared their perspectives on the role of financial institutions in promoting sustainable finance and the ways in which green financing can be leveraged to advance climate change action in the region. The forum suggested developing a working group under SAARCFINANCE network to promote sustainable finance from green financing perspective. The Symposium concluded with closing remarks by Ms. Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor SBP, expressing her gratitude to all the participants for their valuable contributions to the discussions. The event was a significant step towards fostering greater collaboration and cooperation among SAARC member countries and international organizations to address the pressing issue of climate change. Cultural Colors of Pakistan The SBP also arranged a cultural event to familiarize the SAARCFINANCEdelegates with the rich cultural heritage of the country. Besides this, it was also aimed to give the SAARCFINANCE delegates an idea how the region is culturally linked. The program was named as Cultural Colors of Pakistan. The artists from different parts of the country attracted the attention of the audience with their amazing musical and dance performances.

The 42nd SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Group meeting was held on November 15, 2021 in virtual format. The meeting was chaired by the Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Mr. Ali Hashim. In the opening remarks, Governor Hashim expressed his sincere appreciation to the SAARCFINANCE network for the support extended to the MMA during the brief period as the SAARCFINANCE Chair. He also highlighted the strong cooperation between the member countries in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, in the form of food aid, medical equipment, financial support and bilateral vaccination programs. He furthered emphasised the importance of continued support for a smoother recovery, while stressing on the significance of accelerating financial inclusion through the help of FinTech. In addition, he provided a brief update on the global economic developments since the last meeting of the Group in March 2021.

The Group took stock of the macroeconomic situation in the SAARC region; discussed the current SAARCFINANCE initiatives of cooperation; and the way forward. The Governors assured their commitment to the workplan of the Group and in enhancing capacity through shared knowledge and experience.

The meeting was attended by the Governors from other SAARC central banks – Mr. Fazle Kabir, Bangladesh Bank; Mr. Dasho Penjore, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan; Dr. M D Patra, Reserve Bank of India; Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Nepal Rastra Bank; Dr. Reza Baqir, State Bank of Pakistan; and Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

With the end of the MMA’s tenure, Governor Hashim handed over the SAARCFINANCE Chair (effective from November 16, 2021) to the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, and wished him all the very best on the new task.

SAARCFINANCE is a network of central bank governors and finance secretaries of the SAARC region. The Maldives Monetary Authority chaired the SAARCFINACE from April 1, 2021 – November 15, 2021.

Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India chaired the 41st Meeting of the SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Group in virtual format on March 1, 2021. In his opening remarks, Governor Shri Das expressed optimism about the overall COVID-19 situation following the roll-out of the vaccines and complimented all the SAARC central banks for their efforts in combating the pandemic. He led the discussions on progress made under the SAARCFINANCE initiatives, achieved with the all-round cooperation of the SAARC central banks and launched the maiden issue of the annual SAARCFINANCE e-Newsletter. While the Governors agreed that the pandemic had an adverse impact on their economies, they recognized the importance of leveraging technology to spur growth.

The meeting was attended by the Governors from other SAARC central banks – Mr. Ajmal Ahmadi, Da Afghanistan Bank; Mr. Fazle Kabir, Bangladesh Bank; Mr. Dasho Penjore, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan; Mr. Ali Hashim, Maldives Monetary Authority; Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Nepal Rastra Bank; Dr. Reza Baqir, State Bank of Pakistan; and Prof. W. D. Lakshman, Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

With the RBI’s tenure coming to a close, Governor Shri Das handed over the SAARCFINANCE Chair (effective from April 01, 2021) to the Governor, Maldives Monetary Authority and assured him of the Reserve Bank’s continued commitment to the SAARCFINANCE initiative.

The SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Symposium was inaugurated by Shri Das on March 02, 2021. He emphasized the importance of effective, creative and prudent use of technology by central bankers, especially in the areas of Big Data, Digital Currencies, Reg-Tech, Sup-Tech and cyber security. The Keynote Address was delivered by Mr. Jermy Prenio, Senior Adviser, Financial Stability Institute, BIS on the topic ‘Suptech use in central banks’. The Symposium also included a Panel Discussion on ‘Cyber Security in Central Banks’ and a presentation by the researchers of the SAARCFINANCE Collaborative Study on ‘Comparison of Financial Sector Regulatory Regimes in the SAARC Region’.

SAARCFINANCE is a network of central bank governors and finance secretaries of the SAARC region. The Reserve Bank of India is the present chair of the SAARCFINANCE from October 2019 to March 2021.

The Reserve Bank of India Governor, Shri Shaktikanta Das, inaugurated the SAARCFINANCE Sync, a portal for SAARC central banks on November 04, 2020, in the presence of the SAARC central bank Governors. The SAARCFINANCE Sync is a closed group communication channel for SAARC central banks. It will track various initiatives under the SAARCFINANCE stream and will act as a repository of documents and information.

The Governor in his inaugural remarks stated that the SAARCFINANCE Sync is more than just a communication portal – it is a tool to deepen ties between central banks by fostering collaboration and capacity building, encouraging research and innovation, and providing real-time economic intelligence. This vision is reflected in the logo which symbolizes the collective learning around our core public service values. The portal was launched by the Reserve Bank as one of the deliverables under its SAARCFINANCE Chairmanship.

The portal will give updated information on initiatives like SAARCFINANCE Roadmap, swap framework, capacity building, database, scholarships, macroeconomic surveillance, collaborative studies, seminars, e-Newsletter etc. The Governors’ and Coordinators’ meeting documents and records will be available here. The logistic support and conduct of the events, seminars, symposiums and meetings will be coordinated through the portal. The research section will enable researchers of collaborative studies to share documents and data and it will also have provision for chat facility which will act as a discussion forum. It contains a media gallery as well as a document repository section that will build the archives of SAARCFINANCE.

The Governor also announced the two new initiatives operationalised by the Reserve Bank under its chair, viz., the Financial Inclusion Platform and the Directory of Retired Resource Persons. The Financial Inclusion Platform is a repository of initiatives taken by the SAARC central banks to promote financial inclusion and financial literacy. The strategy papers, policy documents, financial literacy material, SOPs of conducting outreach programs, research papers, etc. would be accessible to the officers of the operational departments of SAARC central banks. This will help facilitate policymakers through shared experiences and initiatives.

In order to tap the expertise of the retired SAARC central banks officers, the Reserve Bank has built the Directory of the Retired Resource to provide consultancy support to SAARC central banks. Presently, the experts have been identified for 15 areas which include monetary policy, banking and nonbank supervision and regulation, payment systems, IT, internal audits, currency management, macroeconomic and microeconomic research, etc. The areas and experts will be updated by the SAARC central banks in the directory every year.

Dr. Mohua Roy, Adviser, International Department gave a presentation explaining the key functionalities of the portal. The portal was appreciated by the Governors of all the SAARC central banks.

The Governor Reserve Bank congratulated the International Department of the Reserve Bank who conceptualised the portal, along with Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT) and Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) who helped in operationalizing the portal, while working under challenging conditions during the pandemic.

Reserve Bank of India organized the 40th SAARCFINANCE Governors’ Group Meeting on November 04, 2020 through virtual platform. The meeting was chaired by Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India and attended by the Governors from SAARC central banks - Mr. Fazle Kabir, Bangladesh Bank; Mr. Dasho Penjore, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan; Mr. Ali Hashim, Maldives Monetary Authority; Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Nepal Rastra Bank; Dr. Reza Baqir, State Bank of Pakistan; and Prof. W. D. Lakshman, Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Governor, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) was represented by a senior official of DAB.

The Governor, in his opening remarks, reaffirmed India’s support to fighting Covid pandemic and its effects on lives and livelihood in the SAARC region. He mentioned the SAARC Covid-19 Fund and the SAARC Swap facility in this regard. He talked about the deliverables fulfilled by the Reserve Bank as the Chair, including the revised Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Countries, SAARC scholarship scheme and also inaugurated three new initiatives – (i) The SAARCFINANCE Sync – a closed user group secure communication network (ii) Financial Inclusion Platform – a repository of all financial inclusion related activities of member central banks and (iii) Directory of Retired Resource Persons – a directory of specialized retired officers in 15 different functional areas like monetary policy, banking and non-banking regulation and supervision, payment systems, macro and micro economic research, and so on.

This was followed by a discussion by all Governors on the prevailing macroeconomic situation in their respective countries and an update on how the pandemic has affected each country and the policy measures adopted by the central banks and national authorities to counter it. The Governors also deliberated on the other roadmaps under the SF initiative including collaborative studies, capacity building, SAARCFINANCE database, amongst others.

Dr. Michael D. Patra, Deputy Governor, RBI closed the session. In his closing remarks, he highlighted the role played by central banks in formulating policies that are inclusive, equitable and sustainable and also lauded the relentless efforts of all the SAARC central banks who continue to carry forward all initiatives and work collectively to emerge stronger together.

SAARCFINANCE is a network of central bank governors and finance secretaries of the SAARC region. The Reserve Bank of India is the current chair of SAARCFINANCE.

The Reserve Bank of India signed a SAARC Currency Swap Agreement - under a revised Framework - with the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMAB) at New Delhi on January 31, 2020. The agreement was jointly signed by Shri. M Rajeshwar Rao, Executive Director, RBI, and Ms. Yangchen Tshogyel, Deputy Governor, RMAB.

It may be recalled that a revised Currency Swap Framework for 2019-22 was put in place by the RBI in November 2019, with the concurrence of the Government of India, with an overall corpus of US $ two billion. Based on the terms and conditions of the Framework, the RBI would enter into bilateral swap agreements with SAARC central banks, who want to avail swap facility. Drawals can be made in US Dollar, Euro or Indian Rupee. The Framework provides certain concessions for swap drawals in Indian Rupee.

The SAARFINANCE Governors meet twice a year concurrently with the IMF/ WB Annual and Spring Meetings. Accordingly, the 20th SAARCFINANCE Governors' Meeting was held on 05 October 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey under the Chair of Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

H.E Governor Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, Governor, Da Afghanistan Bank, Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor, Bangladesh Bank, Mr. Daw Tenzin, Managing Director, RMA and Ms. Sonam Dema, Officer In-charge, Management Secretariat Unit, and SAARCFINANCE Coordinator (RMA), Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor, RBI and Shri Deepak Mohanty, Executive Director, RBI, Hon. Fazeel Najeeb, Governor of MMA and Ms. Neeza Imad, Executive Director, Human Resource Division of MMA, Mr. Bijaya Nath Bhattarai, Governor, NRB and Mr. Trilochan Pageni, Executive Director NRB, Mr. Syed Salim Raza, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan attended the meeting.

Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor, CBSL chaired the 20th SAARCFINANCE Governors' Meeting held on 05 October 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. P N Weerasinghe, Assistant Governor, CBSL accompanied the Governor.

Certain important decisions taken at the 20th SAARCFINANCE Governors' Meeting with regard to the SAARCFINANCE Web Folder and the Staff Exchange Policy were:

1. SAARCFINANCE Web Folder: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to host the SAARCFINANCE Website
2. SAARCFINANCE Staff Exchange: Governors agreed with the terms of the template of Staff Exchange subject to the following amendments:
   1. The RBI would continue with their current liberal policy of providing all facilities free of charge to the participating Bank.
   2. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would be pleased to continue with its policy of bearing the entire cost of local hospitalities for SAARCFINANCE activities in Pakistan, including the Staff Exchange Programmes.
   3. CBSL, with its newly built facilities would accommodate 200 room nights per year free of charge for the purpose of Staff Exchange.

 

The SAARCFINANCE Governors meet twice a year concurrently with the IMF/WB annual and spring meetings. Since its inception, seventeen SAARCFINANCE Governors’ meetings were held till now.

The 17th SAARCFINANCE Governors’ meeting was held on the sidelines of the Fund-Bank Spring Meeting at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C on April 12, 2008. Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor, Reserve Bank of India and the Chair, SAARCFINANCE presided over the meeting. In addition, Dr. Arvind Virmani, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Mr. Madhusudan Prasad, Joint Secretary, Fund-Bank, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Dr. R.K.Pattnaik, Adviser, Reserve Bank of India and SAARCFINANCE Co-ordinator (India), Dr. Partha Ray, Adviser, ED (India), IMF and Mr. K. Damodaran, EA to Governor, RBI also attended the Meeting.  Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. (Mrs.) Ranee Jayamaha. Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Mr. K .G. D. D. Dheerasinghe, Alternative Executive Director, IMF and Dr. P. N. Weerasingha, Director, Economic Research/Chief Economist of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka also attended the meeting.

Other countries?

Major decisions that were taken during the 17th SAARCFINANCE Governors’ meeting were –

Reconfirmation by the Secretariat from Bangladesh regarding seminar on Corporate Governance in Banks and Financial Institutions in SAARC Countries.

Confirmation from Pakistan by the Secretariat on the areas of further collaboration and assistance under Staff Exchange Programme.

Secretariat would collect the research study on Trade in South Asian Region from Pakistan and circulate to members.

Secretariat to circulate the resolutions passed in the meeting regarding the suo moto participation of the SAARC member countries in the training programmes of any other member country; and the utilisation of the Training Centre at Sri Lanka for conducting joint programmes.

Secretariat to prepare a questionnaire in consultation with the members to include qualitative aspects of the credit information bureau.

Sri Lanka to confirm to the Secretariat the modalities of seminar on foreign exchange reserve management.

The 9th SAARCFINANCE Co-ordinators’ Meeting was organized by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Mumbai on February 12, 2008. All Co-ordinators excepting that of Pakistan participated in the meeting.

Major decisions that were taken during the 9th SAARCFINANCE Co-ordinators’ meeting were –

Research Projects/Symposia planned to be undertaken during 2008 and 2009 should be forwarded to the Secretariat by end February 2008;

Member country may request India or other member countries for technical assistance as part of SAARCFINANCE’s effort to share knowledge with one another;

All countries should forward their training programmes to the Secretariat by end-February 2008 for circulation so that member countries could take advantage of them.  Those training programmes should also be hosted in the SAARCFINANCE Web folder;

Training on other issues such as banking regulation, payment system, etc., may be requested to the member country concerned;

Central Bank of Sri Lanka to prepare a scheme of operationalisation of ‘Centre for Banking Studies’ providing various options of its financing for circulation;

RBI to prepare a draft on common website on SAARCFINANCE activities  taking into account of IMF’s GDDS for circulation amongst member countries;

Central Bank of Sri Lanka to present the paper on the proposal of Regional Payments Council to the SAARC Governors’ meeting in Washington in April 2008;

Member countries should give their respective position with regard to South Asia Credit Bureau indicating objectives, institutional set up and legal structure to the Secretariat for consolidation; the proposal may be placed in the SAARC Governors’ meeting in April 2008. SAARC Payment Council (SPC) Meeting

 

Mrs. Aishath Zahira Latheef, Senior Executive Director of the MMA attended the ‘2nd Meeting of the SAARC Payments Council’ held in Hyderabad, India on June 30, 2008.