Finance chiefs of 8 South Asian nations to meet in Nepal on regional development

A meeting of the finance ministers from the eight South Asian countries is to be held in Nepal next week on regional economic development, officials said on Tuesday.

The eight countries are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that groups Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The finance ministers will discuss a number of regional economic issues such as trade and commerce promotion, a currency swap arrangement, and the establishment of a SAARC Development Bank, a South Asian economic union, and a common economic and monetary union during the one-day meeting slated for Aug. 20.

Funding for infrastructure and intra-SAARC developmental projects is also on the agenda of the meeting, Madhu Kumar Marasini, head of the International Cooperation and Coordination Division at the Nepal's Ministry of Finance, told Xinhua.

During the 18th SAARC Summit held here last November, leaders expressed their commitment to establish the South Asian Economic Union in a phased and planned manner through a free trade area, a Customs Union, a common market and a common economic and monetary union. Endi