Thimphu Bhutan, 13 August 2019 –The Ministry of Finance, Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB), SAARC Development Fund (SDF) and Drukair Corporation Limited today signed a US$13 million (around Nu 918 million) loan agreement to finance the purchase of Drukair ATR aircraft. 

The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance, Tashichho Dzong, Thimphu. Documents were signed by the Hon’ble Finance Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Namgay Tshering, CEO of SAARC Development Fund Dr. Sunil Motiwal and CEO of Drukair Corporation Limited Mr.  Tandi Wangchuk. 

Ministry of Finance – “The financing of ATR 42-600 with US $ 13m is the first loan under the economic and Infrastructure windows of SDF. The financing will open up opportunities for Drukair with additional fleets to explore additional routes within the region and enhance regional integration and connectivity,” said Finance Minister, Lyonpo Namgay Tshering.

Lyonpo said that “this is the first of its kind for Royal Government of Bhutan and SDF to have a loan sanctioned under SDF’s Economic Window.” He thanked SDF for the generous support, which includes over US$32 million for ongoing and future projects in Bhutan. 

SDF– “SDF financing would help Drukair Corporation Limited extend aviation connectivity with Bangladesh, India, and Nepal and thus, providing economic connectivity and regional integration,” said CEO of SAARC Development Fund, Dr. Sunil Motiwal. He said that the project comes under the trade and economic sector of the Economic Window of SDF.  SDF has three funding windows: Social, Economic, and Infrastructure. 

Drukair Corporation Ltd – “Drukair is grateful to RGoB, Royal Monetary Authority and SDF for financing the replacement of the existing ATR 42-500 with state of art ATR 42-600, which will enhance safety and reliability of operations both in the domestic and regional sectors. This complements our plans and efforts in expanding and enhancing the fleet. The new ATR with enhanced features will join our fleet within this September and the new additional Airbus A 320 Neo will join in the first quarter of 2020,” said Drukair CEO Tandi Wangchuk.

Governor of Royal Monetary Authority, Dasho Penjore, who was also present at the signing ceremony, said that today was a historic moment for the Royal Government of Bhutan, SDF, and Drukair towards promoting regional integration.

Bhutan attracts more than 254,704 regional and international tourists in a year and the ATR Financing will help in further increase these numbers.  Trade & Economics, Transportation, Tourism are all the focus areas under the Economic & Infrastructure Windows of SDF and this project fulfills SDF’s mandate of Regional Integration and Collaboration Through Project Financing.

The purchase of the aircraft project for Drukair Corporation Limited in Bhutan was approved by the 30th SDF Board of Directors meeting in December 2018. 

“The project would not only help Bhutan promote its tourism sector but also ensure greater connectivity to achieve economic development in the region. Thereby, promoting the welfare and prosperity of the people in the SAARC region,” said Dr. Motiwal. It also benefits in the form of Trade Facilitation and Tourism Development for Bhutan.

 The SAARC Development Fund, since its inception in April 2010 by the heads of the eight SAARC Member States, is mandated to build regional integration and economic cooperation through project funding in all the eight SAARC member states – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat is based in Thimphu Bhutan. 

SDF has an authorized capital of USD 1.5 Billion and a total capital base of USD 511.52 Million. Currently SDF is implementing 12 projects under the Social window with fund commitment of USD 73.74 million and two more projects are approved in principle in social sector, 5 projects under the Economic and Infrastructure windows (including 2 in-principle approved projects) with a fund commitment of USD 73 million and MSME Program with fund allocation of USD 50 million in SAARC Member States. The cumulative fund commitment under the three funding windows including MSME Program stands at USD 197.4 million. Further, more than 10 bankable projects are also under active consideration of SDF to co-finance in the SAARC Member States. 

SDF has committed a total of USD 31.48 million for ongoing and future projects in Bhutan. Of the total, SDF has funded over 10 projects in Bhutan worth USD 8.48 million under its Social Window as grants, USD 13 million under the Economic Window for purchase of Druk Air ATR aircraft and allocated USD 10 million under Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) funding scheme of SDF. 

The SAARC Development Fund’s Social Window has supported a total of 10 projects in Bhutan worth USD 8.48 million. 7 out of the 10 projects were successfully completed.

Colombo, Sri Lanka 23-24 August 2019 – SAARC Development Fund held its 31st Board Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka this week taking decisions on key issues to further promote regional integration and economic cooperation among its eight Member States.  
Two projects – Consortium for scaling up climate-smart agriculture in South Asia and the Second phase of Inter-professional Master’s Programme in Rehabilitation Science – were approved. 
The Project – Consortium for scaling up climate-smart agriculture in South Asia – with International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and through SDF’s funding will promote sustainable and resilient agricultural intensification in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka through enhanced Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) capacity and technologies. The project will be implemented by National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) and SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC). 
CEO of SAARC Development Fund Dr. Sunil Motiwal said that this project worth USD 3.32 million will directly benefit over 7,500 smallholder farmers as well as researchers, extension workers, and policymakers in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. 
“Impacts of climate change are felt across South Asia and we believe that there is a need to enhance the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers,” he said.
Smallholders will participate in the validation of CSA technologies and will benefit from training, exposure visits, and knowledge events. Hence overall, more than 100,000 smallholders will benefit indirectly from the development of strategies for scaling up CSA technologies. This is in addition to IFAD’s approved regional grant to support the launch of C-SUCSeS in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal.
The second project approved by the Board – Second phase of Inter-professional Master’s Programme in Rehabilitation Science for USD 1.5 million– will develop highly qualified professionals in the area of Rehabilitation Science to enable the provision of quality rehabilitation policies and services to people with disability in all the eight SAARC Member States. The Masters Programme is offered at the Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI), Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP).
Through this project, there will be 150 Direct Beneficiaries, 660 graduate and undergraduate students as secondary beneficiaries annually, and 234,432 patients or the disabled or people with chronic health conditions per year as ultimate beneficiaries. 
The SAARC Development Fund, since its inception in April 2010 by heads of the eight SAARC Member States, is mandated to build regional integration and economic cooperation through project funding in all the SAARC member states – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat is based in Thimphu Bhutan.
SDF’s governance structure includes its Governing Council comprising of the Finance Ministers of the eight SAARC Member States, and its Board of Directors comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Finance of each Member State. The SDF Secretariat, located in Thimphu, Bhutan, is headed by Chief Executive Officer.
SDF has an authorized capital of USD 1.5 Billion and a total capital base of USD 511.52 Million. Currently SDF is implementing 80 projects (12 areas) under its Social Window funding scheme with fund commitment of USD 73.74 million and two more projects are approved in principle in social sector, 5 projects under the Economic and Infrastructure windows (including 2 in-principle approved projects) with a fund commitment of USD 73 million and MSME Program with fund allocation of USD 50 million in SAARC Member States. The cumulative fund commitment under the three funding windows including MSME Program stands at USD 197.4 million. 
“Further, more than 10 bankable projects including projects in Sri Lanka are also under active consideration of SDF to co-finance in the SAARC Member States,” said Dr. Sunil Motiwal.

Male’, Maldives 25 October 2019: Chief Executive Officer of SAARC Development Fund, Dr. Sunil Motiwal, called on the Minister of Finance of Maldives H.E Mr. Ibrahim Ameer on October 25 in the Maldives. They discussed SDF funded projects and the possibility of further strengthening collaboration through project financing.

The minister – who is also an SDF Governing Council member – said that he will try and ensure there are more new projects for co-financing by SDF.

The CEO also called on the Minister of Communication, Science & Technology, Maldives H.E Mr. Mohamed M Jamal. They also discussed SDF-funded projects & the possibility of more projects for co-financing by SDF. The minister spoke of projects related to setting up of ICT and software hub in the Maldives.

SDF also had fruitful discussions with Mr. Ali Naseer Mohamed, Secretary, Multilateral and Ms. Fathimath Ghina, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CEO briefed them about SDF-funded projects under the three windows of SDF & the fund allocated to the Maldives.

The SAARC Development Fund, since its inception in April 2010 by heads of the eight SAARC Member States, is mandated to build regional integration and economic cooperation through project funding in all the SAARC member states – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat is based in Thimphu Bhutan.

SDF’s governance structure includes its Governing Council comprising of the Finance Ministers of the eight SAARC Member States, and its Board of Directors comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Finance of each Member State. The SDF Secretariat, located in Thimphu, Bhutan, is headed by Chief Executive Officer.

Currently, SDF is implementing 92 projects in all SAARC Member States. There are 87 projects (under 13 areas) across all SAARC Member States under the Social Window with a fund commitment of USD 75.23 million. USD 48.37 million have been disbursed. There are five projects under the Economic and Infrastructure windows (including 2 in-principle approved projects) with a fund commitment of USD 73 million and MSME Program with a fund allocation of USD 50 million in the SAARC Member States. We have disbursed USD 13 million under Economic Window for the financing of ATR aircraft for Drukair Corporation, Bhutan. The cumulative fund commitment under the three funding windows including MSME Program stands allocation is at USD 198.23 million. Further, more than 10 bankable projects are also under active consideration of SDF to co-finance in the SAARC Member States

“Further, more than 10 bankable projects are also under active consideration of SDF to co-finance in the SAARC Member States,” said Dr. Sunil Motiwal.

Male’, Maldives 23-25 October 2019 – SDF Counterpart Agencies from eight SAARC Member States (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) are meeting in Male’ Maldives this week for 6^th Counterpart Agencies Meeting of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF).

Hon’ble Minister for Economic Development H.E. Mr. Fayyaz Ismail graced the inaugural session of the Meeting today, 23 October 2019. During his inaugural address, the Minister committed to strengthening Maldives’ interaction with the SAARC Development Fund to increase SDF’s assistance and projects in Maldives. He said that they will be proposing more projects originating from the Maldives for co-financing by SDF.

The Counterpart Agencies comprising of members from the Ministry of Finance of eight SAARC Member States will review and discuss key issues to further promote regional integration and economic cooperation among the member countries.

The meeting is to review the status and achievements of ongoing SDF-funded projects in the SAARC Member States and discuss challenges faced in implementing these projects and as well as, the important role of the Counterpart Agencies of SDF.

SDF Counterpart Agencies are the focal points nominated by the Finance Ministry in order to coordinate and facilitate on behalf of SDF in the respective Member States.

CEO of SDF Dr. Sunil Motiwal said: “The Counterpart Agencies have a very vital role in effective implementation of projects in the SAARC Member States as they act as coordinator/ Facilitator on behalf of SDF as and when requested by SDF. Their role as Counterpart Agencies will certainly benefit SDF even more in times to come. SDF along with its counterpart agencies is fully committed to bringing synergies in the Member States through project funding.”

Some of the key points from the Member States during the meeting were potential projects for co-financing in the areas of energy, infrastructure such as roads and railways, agriculture, waste management, tourism and export of marine products. The participants also discussed SDF’s current challenges in terms of its loan pricing and lending requirements.

The SAARC Development Fund, since its inception in April 2010 by heads of the eight SAARC Member States, is mandated to build regional integration and economic cooperation through project funding in all the SAARC member states – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat is based in Thimphu Bhutan.

SDF’s governance structure includes its Governing Council comprising of the Finance Ministers of the eight SAARC Member States, and its Board of Directors comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Finance of each Member State. The SDF Secretariat, located in Thimphu, Bhutan, is headed by Chief Executive Officer.

SDF has an authorized capital of USD 1.5 Billion and a total capital base of USD 511.52 Million. Currently, SDF is implementing 92 projects in all SAARC Member States. There are 87 projects (under 13 areas) across all SAARC Member States under the Social Window with a fund commitment of USD 75.23 million. USD 48.37 million have been disbursed. There are five projects under the Economic and Infrastructure windows (including 2 in-principle approved projects) with a fund commitment of USD 73 million and MSME Program with a fund allocation of USD 50 million in the SAARC Member States. We have disbursed USD 13 million under Economic Window for the financing of ATR aircraft for Drukair Corporation, Bhutan. The cumulative fund commitment under the three funding windows including MSME Program stands allocation is at USD 198.23 million. Further, more than 10 bankable projects are also under active consideration of SDF to co-finance in the SAARC Member States

“Further, more than 10 bankable projects are also under active consideration of SDF to co-finance in the SAARC Member States,” said Dr. Sunil Motiwal.

SDF has implemented five projects in the Maldives so far: Strengthening the livelihood initiative for home-based workers in SAARC Region (Phase I & II), Strengthening Maternal and Child Health Including Immunization, South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), Empowering Rural Communities : Reaching the Unreached – Setting up Community E-Centres, Toll Free Helplines for Women and Children in SAARC Member States and Livelihood Enhancement of the Small Scale Framers in SAARC Region through Small Scale Agro Business Focusing on Value Chain Development.

On the sidelines of the Meeting, CEO Dr. Motiwal will call on to the Hon’ble Finance Minister Mr. Ibrahim Ameer and Hon’ble Economic Development Minister Uz. Fayyaz Ismail. He will also meet with other senior officials and partners.