Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – A high profile international workshop will begin in the capital, Dhaka on Monday where participants will brainstorm on the global financial crisis, officials said on Sunday.

The workshop has been organized by the macroeconomic policy and development division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the regional arm of the United Nations headquartered in Bangkok, and hosted by the Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh.

Senior finance and central bank officials from 17 Asia-Pacific countries will meet in the four-day workshop on “Strengthening the response of the global financial crisis in Asia-Pacific: the role of monetary, fiscal and external debt policies,” to look at various economic policies used by regional governments in dealing with the global crisis.

“Participants are expected to share how conditions in their countries, and their ability to respond, determined the different economic approaches governments ultimately used,” the central bank of Bangladesh said in a press statement.

Sharing of best practices in implanting effective macro-economic polices and identifying key areas for regional cooperation and coordination will also be a common thread for discussion throughout the meeting, the statement added.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith is scheduled to inaugurate the workshop, followed by an opening message from Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, under-secretary-general of the United Nations and executive secretary of ESCAP. The governor of the Bangladesh Bank, Dr. Atiur Rahman, will deliver the keynote address.

The participating countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

BBN/SS/SI/AD-27July09-2:38 am (BST)