and particularly china, the increase in trade surpluses and its corollary, the worsening of the us imbalance, exerts upward pressure on the currencies while swelling foreign exchange reserves increase the costs of an appreciation vis - a - vis the us dollar. does this configuration correspond to a mutually advantageous and sustainable situation? in this second session, bill white, economic adviser at the bank for international settlements, will clarify these paradoxes in the light of the work carried out by the latter organisation, which makes a vital contribution to the analysis and promotion of macro - financial stability. in the third session, which will tackle economic policy adjustment and responses to the increase in global imbalances, we will examine private and public players ’ ability to adapt to the current situation. can the behaviour of private agents, through a change in their savings or the redirection of capital flows, lead to a spontaneous decrease in global imbalances without engendering destabilising adjustments on the financial markets? more specifically, can greater foreign exchange flexibility in certain areas, and particularly the emerging economies, help to restore some balance? in europe and japan, we expect an increase in potential output following structural reforms on financial, product and labour markets. beyond the mechanical effect of a reduction in the growth differential, what would be the impact on capital flows? in the united states, bearing in mind the savings behaviour of private agents, what lever should be used in addition to the tightening of the policy mix to substantially improve the savings - investment balance? lastly, could international institutions play a bigger role in the management of global imbalances? in this third session, otmar issing, former professor at the university of wurzburg and member of the executive board of the european central bank, will explore the avenues for finding a way out of the current global imbalances notably by presenting the analyses developed by his institution in the areas of fiscal and foreign exchange policy and structural reform. the last session will focus on the consequences of these developments for international financial stability against the backdrop of the liberalisation, the increase in and redirection of capital flows. the emerging economies have on several occasions borne the brunt of erratic capital flows. the asian crisis of 1997 thus brought to light the risks associated with the accelerated liberalisation of short - term capital flows, particularly where prudential supervision structures were inadequate. what is the appropriate global financial integration policy for an emerging economy? for mature economies, the ltcm investment

yandraduth googoolye : how african countries can play an active role in the belt and road initiative remarks by mr yandraduth googoolye, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the financial connectivity thematic forum on " how african countries can play an active role in the belt and road initiative ", beijing, 25 april 2019. * * * excellencies good morning and thank you for giving me the opportunity to address such an eminent audience. last october, at the official opening of the belt and road international financial exchange and cooperation seminar organised by the bank of china, i had stressed on africa ’ s eagerness to be part of china ’ s vision to enhance cooperation and connectivity among countries that will be part of the belt and road initiative. africa is endowed with considerable human capital, millions of acres of arable land and a myriad of natural resources. therefore, ladies and gentlemen, the combination of china ’ s capital, technology, market, enterprises, talents and experiences and africa ’ s abundant resources, huge demographic dividend and great market potential should create economic wonders. testimony to africa ’ s willingness to support the belt and road initiative is member states of the african union endorsement of “ agenda 2063 : the africa we want ”, a roadmap for structural economic transformation over a fifty - year time scale. whilst the initiative will undoubtedly enable a smooth flow of goods and services against efficient mechanisms of payment flows, africa must also see to it that adequate and timely resources are geared towards the modernization of financial market infrastructures as well as to the opening and promotion of free trade areas. these will be instrumental in supporting the expansion of the trade corridor between china and africa and in upholding cross - border e - commerce. ladies and gentlemen, a key target of the initiative rests on financial integration and cooperation. besides enhancing financial regulation cooperation, it will increase the scope and scale of bilateral currency swaps and settlements as well as the issuance of bonds in chinese yuan. it is, therefore, to the advantage of countries across africa to encourage commercial equity investment funds and private funds to participate fully in the construction of key projects stemming from the belt and road initiative. the initiative will also push forth an additional currency of choice and set the rmb among the reserve currencies for african countries. a currency that can be used, not only for trade between africa and china, but also for intra - african commercial flows. african central banks and other regulatory entities must fully embrace the crucial