The 16th Informal Meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Finance Ministers was held virtually on 5 May 2021 on the sidelines of 54th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegations from all the member states of SAARC attended the meeting, which had the theme "Economic Recovery from COVID-19: Towards Inclusive and Resilient Growth." Mr. Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Finance Minister of the Government of Nepal, chaired the meeting. In his opening statement, Mr. Paudel stated that there should be solidarity and collective efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impacts on the economy.

Mr. Esala R. Weerakoon, Secretary General of SAARC, highlighted the adverse impacts of the pandemic on the economies of the SAARC member states. He underscored the need for measures to address these, including universalization of vaccination. He underlined the importance of collective action at this time of crisis and emphasized that interventions like more investments in health care and on education, and more collaborative and innovative projects with development partners are to be continued at this challenging time.

Mr. Shixin Chen, Vice President (Operations 1) of ADB, briefed the Meeting about the initiatives and financial commitments already made by ADB for the region along with the status of collaboration between ADB and SAARC. He reaffirmed ADB’s commitment to support SAARC for the economic development and prosperity of the people in the region, especially in view of the COVID-19 and its negative impacts.

Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada, Chief Economist and Director General of the Department of Economic Research and Regional Cooperation of ADB, made a presentation highlighting the present situation of the pandemic, its possible impacts on economies along with challenges and measures needed for sustainable, green recovery in the region.

The Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegation briefed the meeting about the measures they have taken to fight and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, along with the current status of their economic progress.

Read the statement by the SAARC Secretary General.