Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Ahsan H Mansur has recently taken charge as chairperson of Saarc Finance Network for one year.

The BB governor took the charge at the 46th Saarc Finance Governors' Group Meeting held in Washington on October 24, said a press release from the central bank today.

In the meeting, Bangladesh was formally handed over responsibility as the chair country of Saarc Finance from the preceding chair country, Sri Lanka, it added.

At the 45th Saarc Finance Governors' Group Meeting in Sri Lanka in June 2024, Bangladesh agreed to be the chair country following a request of the governors of the central banks of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

As per the terms of reference of the Saarc Finance Network, two governors' group meetings are convened annually, with the participation of the governors and finance secretaries of Saarc member central banks and ministries of finance.

The first meeting is traditionally held in the Saarc Finance chair country, whereas the second meeting takes place alongside the October/November IMF-World Bank Group meetings.

The Saarc Finance Network originated from the 10th Saarc Summit held in Colombo on July 29, 1998.

The heads of state/government of the Saarc region agreed, in principle, to establish a "Network of Central Bank Governors and Finance Secretaries of the Saarc Region (Saarc Finance)" to facilitate macroeconomic policies and share mutual experiences and need based ideas.