Kathmandu, Aug. 19: The preparatory meeting for the impending 7th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Finance Ministers’ meeting has begun at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu today.
The preceding meeting, chaired by Finance Secretary Suman Prasad Sharma, has the participation of the finance secretaries of six countries in the SAARC region.
India’s finance secretary Rajiv Mehrishi is represented by joint-secretary S Selvakumar at the meeting while Sri Lankan Finance Ministry was not presented at the meeting.
Today’s meeting will prepare report to be submitted to the tomorrow’s meeting, Under-Secretary at the Finance Ministry Lal Bahadur Khattri told RSS.
Also, the meeting will deliberate on the implementation of the recommendations furnished by the sixth meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers held in Sri Lanka in 2013 as well on cooperation in finance sector among the SAARC member countries, Under-Secretary Khatrri added.
Moreover, the finance ministers are also likely to discuss on the decisions about holding the seventh meeting of the inter-governmental finance experts.
Similarly, the attendees of today’s meeting will also dwell effective use of the SAARC Development Fund, set up of SAARC Development Bank, greater flow of financial capital and intra-regional long-term investment, quarantine and trade facilitation and progress achieved in avoidance of double taxation. RSS