The central bank governors or their representatives of the eight members of ACU -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka -- will attend the two-day meeting at Hotel Sheraton, a senior official of Bangladesh Bank told the news agency.

Some 26 foreign delegates from the member countries and ACU secretariat will participate in the board meeting. A 5-member delegation of Bangladesh Bank, led by its Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, will represent Bangladesh in the meeting.

Other members of the Bangladesh Bank delegation are Deputy Governor Allah Malik Kazemi, executive directors Khandakar Muzaharul Huq and Yasin Ali, and General Manager Belayet Hossain.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed will inaugurate the board meeting. Besides attending the board meeting, central bank governors of the Saarc countries will hold meetings on the sidelines.

Central bank governors of Bhutan, Myanmar, Iran and Sri Lanka, deputy governor of Pakistan and executive director of Nepal central bank have already arrived in the capital to attend the meeting while Indian governor is scheduled to arrive today morning.

Bangladesh Bank officials said the meeting will take stock of the ACU activities the last year and look for ways for further deepening the cooperation among the member states.

"ACU helps deepening regional integration of trade," said a senior official. He said Bangladesh settles a bimonthly payment of US$ 350-400 million with the ACU.

In the 36th meeting, delegates will elect the board chairman and vice chairman for the year 2007 and decide the venue and date for the next board meeting.

The ACU, basically a clearing and settlement organisation, was founded in 1974 with headquarters in Tehran.

Its objectives include multilateral settlement of current account payments, conservation of forex, promotion of monitory cooperation among central banks, increasing relationship among banking system of member-countries and providing currency swap arrangements.

The annual board meeting of the ACU is hosted by member-countries in rotation.

The ACU transactions are growing since 1975 and it has not registered any defaulters so far. The central banks of the eight member countries, not their governments, are involved in its operation.