sabine mauderer : green transition in germany – short - term needs and long - term opportunities speech by dr sabine mauderer, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the kfw " capital markets conference on energy transition for germany ", frankfurt am main, 9 july 2024. * * * check against delivery 1 introductory remarks ladies and gentlemen, last friday, we found out that germany is not going to be the next european football champion. unfortunately. but what i can tell you today is that – fortunately – germany is the european champion when it comes to registered patents. and it is competing at the top level globally, too. as you know, germany has been through challenging times in recent years : 2020 marked the beginning of the global covid - 19 pandemic that triggered a severe supply shock. in early 2022, war broke out in europe, causing, first and foremost, immense human suffering in ukraine, but also economic disruption across the continent. at that time, it also became painfully clear how dependent germany had become on importing fossil fuels. this also translated into higher prices. in october 2022, inflation in the euro area reached an all - time high of 10. 6 %. 2 situation today so, let's have a look at the situation today. we overcame the pandemic, thanks in part to a vaccine developed in germany. and as for the economic fallout, luckily only a small percentage of companies went bust. this year, the economy has started to pick up again. the eurosystem managed to bring inflation in june down to 2. 5 %, less than two years after inflation peaked. representatives from twenty different european countries worked together to set monetary policy in a way that brought euro area inflation back towards its 2 % target. this shows that europe works! i expect the same dedication to complete the capital markets union. at the same time, the labour market has been robust. according to eurostat, the unemployment rate in may is stable at 6. 4 % in the euro area, and just 3. 3 % in germany. 1 german businesses are well aware that international recruitment is needed to manage the demographic challenges. numerous ceos have made that very clear. 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches our political system in germany is an anchor of stability. these days, we all know how important that is, also from an investor's point of view. furthermore, germany's fiscal situation is sound

linah k mohohlo : the role of information technology in domestic economic development and regional integration – opportunities and related challenges speech by ms linah k mohohlo, governor of the bank of botswana, at the gala dinner of the swift 2013 africa regional conference, gaborone, 22 may 2013. * * * on behalf of the board and all staff of the bank, i would like to welcome you, not only to gaborone and to botswana, but to this gala dinner as well, an event at which we need to relax, mingle and get to know each other less formally. in his opening remarks yesterday, the honourable minister highlighted the importance of this conference to the development and economic integration process of africa. taking cue from this, you have since deliberated on several issues that are fundamental to these developments, which include payments systems, financial inclusion, cross - border payments, as well as information and communication technology ( ict ). this evening, i will share with you some observations on the subject of “ the role of information technology in economic development and regional integration : opportunities and related challenges ”. by now, you can hardly have failed to notice the impact of the continuing ict revolution in transforming the daily lives of most people : both rich and poor, young and old. contrary to widely - held expectations, ict has proved to be an effective agent for narrowing, not widening, the digital divide. but the sheer dynamism of this revolution brings not only evolving opportunities, but also challenges, particularly perhaps for traditionally conservative bodies such as central banks. it is now clear that ict - driven financial transactions can be the impetus for the next stage of domestic socio - economic development and should, therefore, be fully harnessed in promoting regional economic integration. it goes without saying that, if the benefits of ict are to be realised, members of the public, financial sectors of respective countries and all stakeholders must be fully on board ; they need to embrace its use and ensure that it is not subverted or abused. distinguished ladies and gentlemen : the path to regional and, ultimately, continental economic development and integration is complex ; it requires purposeful and resolute determination, the preconditions of which include meaningful economic integration, harmonisation of fiscal and monetary policies and convergence of banking policies and systems. with respect to the last of these, you will agree that coordination in harnessing the potential of ict - based financial transactions infrastructure is critical for progress in driving forward the process of development