Kathmandu. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Prof Dr Bishwanath Poudel attended the 49th SAARC Finance Governors Group Meeting held in Thimpore, Bhutan today.
On the first day of the meeting, Bhutanese Finance Minister Lyampo Lekdorji delivered the opening remarks and the Governor of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, Yanchen Sogyel, delivered the welcome address.
According to the NRB, a panel discussion was held on the theme ‘Advancing Regional Financial Integration through Digital Payment, Connectivity and Innovation’. The meeting was also attended by the central bank governors of Bhutan and Sri Lanka and the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. On the occasion, Governor Poudel shed light on the development of e-payment system and efforts made in domestic payment in Nepal in recent period. In the second session of the meeting, a presentation was made by the representatives of the central banks on ‘Invalids and Challenges in Advancing Cross-Border Payment Interoperability’.
On the occasion, Executive Director of Department of Payment Systems Nischal Adhikari gave a presentation on the status of inter-country payments in Nepal. On the second day of the meeting, SAARC Finance Governors Group Meeting was held. Governors, Deputy Governors and other representatives of the central banks of the SAARC region were present on the occasion. In the meeting, Governor Poudel said that political stability has been maintained in the country at present and the external and financial sector are in a strong situation.
However, due to international geopolitical influences, there are still challenges in the overall economy along with the price situation. On the occasion, representatives of other central banks briefed about the economic and financial situation of their respective countries. During the meeting, the participating governors stressed on the need of strengthening the transboundary payment system in the SAARC region.
Discussions were held on climate investment and sustainable development, financial inclusion, currency swap framework among SAARC countries, common research and data system, SAARC scholarships and the future course of action. On the sidelines of the meeting, Governor Poudel had a separate meeting with Bhutanese Finance Minister Dorji. Governor Poudel returned home on July 28 after attending the meeting.
Executive Director of the Department of Payment Systems Nischal Adhikari, Director of the Office of the Governor Sharan Kumar Adhikari and Deputy Director Swechha Shakya were also present in the meeting. SAARC Finance is a network of central bank governors and finance secretaries of SAARC countries. SAARC Finance was established in 1998 with the objective of discussing macroeconomic policy among the SAARC countries and exchanging mutual assistance.
The eleventh SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu in January 2002 officially recognized SAARC finance.
