or windows. other conventional banks have also expressed interest in providing sharia compliant products to an increasing customer base. ladies and gentlemen : among the challenges facing kenya ’ s ambition to be a hub of sharia compliant investment products to compliment the islamic banking in the country are lack of ; shariah compliant investment vehicles, an enabling legal and regulatory framework and awareness by majority of the populace that hinder the uptake of these investments. for the country to fully embrace islamic finance, there is need to extend beyond the offering of sharia compliant products by introducing such investment vehicles like unit trusts, corporate bonds ( sukuks ) and insurance ( takaful ) products and sharia compliant treasury bills and bonds ( government sukuk ). bis central bankers ’ speeches it is encouraging to note the ongoing efforts by the government and other players especially the capital markets authority and insurance regulatory authority to come up with a range of shariah compliant financial products. already there are positive signals of these efforts with the introduction of shariah compliant investments and insurance products. it is in this spirit that the kenyan government through the finance act 2010, amended section 45 of the central bank of kenya act, to allow the central bank as the government ’ s fiscal agent to recognize the payment of a “ return ” rather than “ interest ” on government securities. this amendment opens up the spectrum of sharia compliant investments in the country. ladies and gentlemen : the future of islamic finance in kenya and in the region remains bright. on its part, the government of kenya will continue to pursue policies that create an enabling environment that will eventually culminate in kenya establishing itself as a regional financial hub as envisaged in vision 2030. in addition, the central bank will continue to partner with the sector to promote financial inclusion by supporting innovation in the sharia compliant banking sector. with these few remarks, let me wish all participants to this conference, fruitful deliberations over the next two days and declare the 3rd gulf african bank annual east and central african islamic conference officially opened. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

is vital that we act credibly and quickly to confront the very significant challenges that we face and chart a path that will in time ensure a sustainable recovery in economic growth. over the past two decades, ireland has demonstrated a strong ability to exploit its advantages – in the form of flexible markets, a competitive economy and a highly - skilled and educated labour force – to generate growth. in more recent times, these strengths have come to be masked by increased costs and by the fact that economic activity had become unbalanced. we had become too dependent on largely construction - driven growth in domestic demand. among other things, this pattern of growth entailed an overdependence on property - related transaction taxes. the inevitable downturn in construction activities then gave rise to an extremely sharp and severe deterioration in the public finances, the scale of which has exceeded even that of the downturn in economic growth. the importance of taking effective and immediate steps to improve cost competitiveness and address fiscal imbalances cannot be overstated. economy - wide productivity gains have been very modest and labour costs have been relatively high in recent years compared to our main trading partners. this deterioration must be addressed if we are to return to a sustainable growth path. a strategy to restore competitiveness must encompass action on a number of fronts including pay and non - pay costs, infrastructure improvements which support productivity growth, the enhancement of competition in sheltered sectors, continuing to encourage innovation and r & d activity and enhancing the skill levels of the labour force. in particular, a flexible approach to wage developments is essential. more recently, in the face of the sharp contraction in economic activity, many firms have taken action to reduce their costs including the negotiation of reductions in wage rates, with a view to protecting employment. while this has undoubtedly been painful for those concerned, it nevertheless reflects encouraging evidence of the flexibility and realism that is needed if the economy is to maintain the maximum possible number of jobs in the short - term while placing ireland in a favourable position to benefit from an eventual recovery in world demand. this type of flexibility must embrace all sectors of the economy. the deterioration in the fiscal position has been a cause for serious concern. the government has agreed with the european commission to correct our excessive deficit position by 2013. the government ’ s introduction of a public sector pension levy and the supplementary budget are steps they have taken to this end. it is important that the target agreed with the european commission be met. future lower medium - term growth potential means