Kathmandu. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Prof. Dr. Bishwanath Poudel attended the meeting of the 48th SAARC Finance Governors Group held in Washington D.C. of the United States of America.

He attended the meeting on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC.

Governor of Bangladesh, Dr. Asan H. The meeting was attended by central bank governors, deputy governors, officials of the Ministry of Finance and other representatives from the South Asian region.

In the meeting, Governor Dr. Analyzing the current economic situation of Nepal, Poudel said inflation and external sector indicators are in a comfortable situation. He, however, said that the recent political situation has added challenges to fiscal balance and efforts for sustainable economic growth.

Addressing the challenge, Governor Poudel said that efforts have been made to facilitate the policy for the revival and dynamism of the economy. During the meeting, Governor Mansoor said that SAARC Finance is a common forum for regional cooperation and exchange of good practices among the central banks in the South Asian region.

A presentation was made by the participating central banks on the current economic and financial situation of their respective countries. Discussions were held on the effectiveness of SAARC Payment Council, financial inclusion in the region, possibilities of currency swap among SAARC countries, common research and data system, SAARC scholarships and future course of action.

The central bank governors who participated in the program underscored the need to make coordination and cooperation among the SAARC member states on contemporary issues in the economic and financial sector more effective in the coming days. The meeting handed over the chairmanship of SAARC Finance to the Royal Monetary Authority, the central bank of Bhutan.