Economic Reporter :
State Minister for Finance MA Mannan will represent Bangladesh in Saarc Finance Ministers’ meeting to be held in Islamabad next week as Finance Minister AMA Muhith is going to ‘skip’ it citing his domestic compulsion.
All the Saarc member countries confirmed the participation of their Finance Ministers, except Bangladesh, a diplomatic source told The New Nation on Monday adding that the participation of State Minister for Finance MA Mannan has, however, been confirmed.
The State Minister said the Finance Minister will not be going to attend the conference due to his preoccupation for an urgent event at home and asked him to represent.
“I’m still at my hometown and let me go back to Dhaka first. There’s no government order yet. If the government orders me, I’ll go,” Mannan told THE NEW NATION over phone.
But Pakistan, at least, wants to have a telephone conversation between Bangladesh Finance Minister Muhith and his Pakistan counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar before the meeting, said an official wishing to remain anonymous.
It could not be known yet why the Finance Minister is not going to join the Saarc Finance Ministers’ meeting.
The Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Finance Ministers’ conference is scheduled to be held on August 25 and 26.
