contribute to sustainable non - inflationary growth and employment creation? starting with the euro area, recent economic developments point to a much brighter outlook than was expected earlier this year. an improved international environment should support these positive prospects. as shown by the imf ’ s recent world economic outlook, the growth prospects in individual countries and for the global economy in 1999 and 2000 are now much better and more balanced than expected. while the risk of a pronounced slowdown of the us economy, with negative repercussions on the world economy, cannot be ruled out, such a scenario appears unlikely at present. however, a major challenge for the us authorities over the next few months is engineering a “ soft landing ” of the us economy. the japanese economy now shows clearer signs that the protracted weakness of the last few years could come to an end. an economic consolidation and a resumption of capital flows to crisis - hit emerging market economies, especially in asia, also contribute to this favourable outlook. against this positive background, the challenge now is to ensure that the current recovery in the euro area becomes a period of prolonged non - inflationary and employment - generating growth. i will elaborate on the possible contribution of the ecb and the eurosystem, but also on the limitations thereof, pointing to the necessary contributions of other policymakers. looking back at the past ten months, i would like to recall that the introduction of the euro took place in an environment of price stability that only few observers would have predicted some years ago. this was the result of a process of economic convergence, in the course of which european inflation rates were reduced significantly. this development is very encouraging, since theoretical arguments and empirical evidence over several decades suggest that high and variable rates of inflation are detrimental to growth and employment in the long term. against this background, the predominant view has emerged that the best and most lasting contribution that monetary policy can make to long - term economic welfare is that of safeguarding price stability. therefore, central banks throughout the world have been moving towards adopting long - term price stability as their primary goal. in order to achieve this goal most successfully, independence from political interference and a clear legal mandate for price stability are of the utmost importance. a lack of independence and an ambiguous mandate can easily force central banks to focus on the short term, and thus to fail to adopt the forward - looking, medium - term orientation that is crucial for a successful monetary strategy. these aspects were taken into consideration by policymakers when drafting

innovations in payments and regulation. innovative financial services have given rise to an increasing number of financial players, easing cross - border transactions, as well as providing consumers greater flexibility and choice, causing the monitoring of transactions to be more complex for financial institutions and public authorities. there are also instances whereby regulatory authorities are bypassed due to a lack of capacity and resources to monitor these innovative payment channels. it is therefore vital that work is undertaken to better understand the risks and vulnerabilities of innovative financial services and ensure that while we embrace innovation for economic growth, we also pursue responsible innovation, and manage the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. the local financial sector has not been left behind and has to some extent experienced the ‘ fintech ’ phenomenon, ranging from increased use of electronic payment methods such as mobile and internet banking, as well as growing interest in cryptocurrencies. given this growing interest in fintech in seychelles, by consumers, the business community, as well as financial institutions, the central bank is currently in the process of engaging with relevant stakeholders to draft a national strategy on the adoption of fintech in the country. the strategy will be focussing on how fintech can effectively assist in the development of the financial sector, while taking the associated risks into consideration. it is imperative that we have close collaboration between key stakeholders working to regulate the domestic financial sector, so that there is a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges of such developments, as such collaboration and synergies are crucial to addressing any concerns or challenges, as soon as they arise. as we further our discussions on the issue, let us explore the opportunities that new financial and regulatory technologies may present for us to improve the effective implementation of aml / cft measures, in our respective jurisdictions and in the region. seychelles is already embracing the potential of financial technologies, and we are delighted that council of ministers has accepted our nomination to host the esaamlg workshop on digital financial services, bureau de change and money remittances, which will be held next year. ladies and gentlemen, the reason we are gathered here is to engage in serious discussions and come up with plausible solutions to the challenges we face in relation to all three topics. there are surely success stories that exist in this room which will go a long way in helping others to address their respective situations. concerns about the risks that aml / cft present to the stability of our financial systems should be addressed collectively. events like this are therefore of utmost importance