Inaugurating the seminar, Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Yubaraj Khatiwada, stressed that microfinance institutions should focus on uplifting the living standards of the people below the poverty line. [break]
Khatiwada said that they have directed the microfinance institutions to carryout necessary works for the upliftment of people of poor class.
He clarified that the central bank has given high-priority to easy loan and investment promotion in poverty reduction-oriented programmes.
Stating that the government has given high-priority to women empowerment, human development, capital mobilisation and expansion of finance service in rural areas, Khatiwada said that a separate act on microfinance institution was necessary.
Similarly, Governor of the Bangladesh Bank, Atiur Rahman, said that microfinance institutions targeting the people of backward class of his country run different income-generated programmes collaborating with non-government organisations and added that such programmes were fruitful in poverty reduction.
Informing that there was a compulsory provision for banks operated in joint and private investment as well as government banks in Bangladesh to spend 2.5 per cent amount of the total capital in agriculture sector, Rahman stressed on the need of observing special alertness to maintain institutional good governance.
The NRB has organised the seminar where representatives of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka are participating.
The ´SAARC Finance´ was set up in 1998 as a regional network of SAARC bank governors and finance secretaries to promote co-work among members. It got formal recognition of SAARC at 11th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu in 2002.
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