Commonwealth Finance ministers to meet on October 7 in Peru

LONDON: Finance ministers of Commonwealth countries, including India, will participate in a meeting on October 7 in Peru to discuss the need for developing countries to be more active in global negotiations preventing international tax avoidance and evasion.

The meeting will take place in Peruvian Capital Lima, ahead of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings.

Finance Minister of South Africa Nhlanhla Nene will chair the meeting.

Commenting on the focus of the meeting, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: "This year's Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting will pave the way for an important political discussion on global tax reform."

"Tax avoidance and evasion are global problems affecting all countries and therefore require global solutions to be developed in an inclusive manner. This is key to ensure solutions are implementable and politically supported," Sharma said.

Ministers will also consider new sources of financing for infrastructure projects in the global South. They include sovereign wealth funds, the recently-launched New Development Bank (formerly known as the BRICS Bank) and developing country pension funds.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will also attend the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting and is expected to talk about information exchange on tax avoidance as well as blackmoney.

The Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Ángel Gurría, will deliver the keynote address.

Senior finance officials and central bank governors from the Commonwealth are meeting tomorrow.

The senior officials will look at maximising the potential of remittances, a significant source of external finance for many developing countries.

In addition, they will consider the policy implications of falling energy prices.

Central bank governors will address the impact of tighter measures to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing on remittance flows, a Commonwealth statement said.