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Saarc Summit

Dhaka to sign SDF, draft SARSO agreements

UNB, Dhaka
Bangladesh will sign the Saarc Development Fund (SDF) agreement at the 15th Summit on August 2-3 in Colombo, aiming to ensure welfare of the people in the region, improve lifestyle and economic growth and alleviate poverty.
It will also sign a draft agreement on setting up South Asian Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO) to expedite intra-regional trade by paving the way for access of products of the Saarc countries to the world market.
A meeting of the council of advisers with Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed in the chair approved these proposals as well as three ordinances aimed at streamlining the insurance sector.
The interim cabinet approved the Insurance Ordinance 2008 and the Insurance Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2008. It also approved in principle the Insurance Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance 2008.
The meeting further approved a proposal for adjusting "on equity basis" aboutTk 574 crore outstanding bill from Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd to the Civil Aviation Authority and a waiver of over Tk 1216 core as surcharge due from Rim'ah BangladeshAfrllhes: ' ■ h i
Biman Bangladesh aviation company now got a new lease of life free from liabilities.
On the basis of commitment of Saarc member-countries, the initial authorised capital for SDF
has been fixed at 1,000 million SDR (Special Drawing Rights) and initial paid-up capital for the fund fixed at 200 million SDR.
At the 14th Saarc Summit in New Delhi in April 2007, it was deiced that resources for SDF could be collected from regional and international sources.
The SARSO draft agreement will be signed in the upcoming Saarc Summit in the Sri Lankan capital. Already, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Bhutan have given approval to the draft.
Headquartered in Dhaka, the SARSO will have a governing body, a Technical Management Board, a Director General and a Secretariat.
Under the Insurance Regulatory Authority Ordinance a five-man authority with one chairman and
four members will be formed aiming to ensure development of the insurance industry and guarantee interest of insurance policy holders.
As per the Insurance Ordinance there will be option for life insurance and non-life insurance companies. There will be no general insurance category.
Besides, the council of advisers discussed earthquake preparedness as tremor jolted Bangladesh Saturday night on a moderate scale.
Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman, who went to Geneva for attending WTO meeting, apprised the council of the latest position of WTO and Bangladesh’s interests.