international level. stability is the foundation for sustained economic growth, and crisis prevention and resolution is an integral part of our work. the imf discharges this mandate in a variety of ways, including the following. first, it provides the framework and mechanisms for international economic cooperation. with increasing integration in the world economy, the importance of this aspect cannot be overstated. second, it helps countries design macroeconomic policies that achieve and maintain high levels of employment and income. the promotion of open economies and trade is a key element of these policies. third, the imf helps in the orderly correction of a country ’ s balance of payments problems by providing temporary financing. the ways in which we carry out our operations are also unique in several respects. broadly - speaking, these may be divided into three categories of activities : • surveillance – this involves the monitoring of economic and financial conditions, both at the global level and in individual countries. for the imf, surveillance is a central instrument for maintaining monetary and financial stability. by obliging each imf member to engage in a regular consultation with us on its economic policies, the surveillance process also explicitly recognizes the role that all countries play in maintaining global stability. • lending – our financing role is focused in assisting members with balance of payments adjustments. through the temporary provision of funds, imf lending gives members breathing room to implement policy measures to overcome underlying economic problems. for the poorest countries, financing may be provided on concessional terms, and with longer maturities. the availability of imf funds to assist in economic adjustment gives confidence to members and the international system as a whole, since it lowers the incentive for countries to take adjustment measures which are damaging to the national and international economies. • technical assistance – technical advice and assistance is provided to member countries in areas of the imf ’ s expertise, primarily in macroeconomic and financial policymaking. by helping to build institutional and human capacity for the making of sound economic policies, imf technical assistance contributes to the building of strong economies and stable growth. the imf ’ s purposes, and its operational activities, were therefore designed with a key objective in mind – that is, the fostering of healthy national economies, linked by finance and trade, as the foundation for a robust global economic system. i think it correct to say that this vision for international peace and stability has produced remarkable results, for the past fifty years have been a period of growing economic prosperity and freedom. global per capita income has more than

by scaling back investment plans, tightening its fiscal stance, and strengthening prudential banking regulations. indonesia has strengthened its policy stance in continuous dialogue with us, and has recently reached agreement with the fund on a major program consisting of : strong monetary and fiscal policies to bring about orderly adjustment in the economy and restore confidence to financial markets ; a major restructuring of the financial sector, along with measures to ensure its future soundness ; and significant deregulation measures and trade reforms that should improve economic efficiency immediately and over the longer term. the fund has agreed to support this program with a loan of $ 10 billion in a total package of $ 23 billion, of which $ 18 billion will consist of multilateral financing. on top of that, a contingency safety net is being established through which an important group of countries have declared their readiness to complement our package in the case of unexpected need. naturally, it will take time for these efforts to bear fruit. but developments in recent months have by no means wiped out the achievements of past decades. on the contrary, the region ’ s longer term fundamentals - - including its high domestic saving rates, strong fiscal positions, dynamic private sectors, and recent gains in competitiveness - - remain favorable. moreover, all of these countries still have a long way to go to catch up with advanced economies. thus, with sound policies, they should be able to sustain high rates of growth for another two decades or more. in the less distant future, growth can be expected to rebound strongly after a relatively short, but sharp, weakening of economic activity, especially in thailand, and a rapid narrowing of external deficits. in fact, we are already seeing improvements in exports, even though recent exchange rate changes have not had much opportunity yet to generate their effects. and as these adjustments take place, each of these countries will have seized the opportunity to strengthen their economies in fundamental ways. this leads me to agree with those in the region who see this crisis not as a blight on the future, but as a blessing in disguise. indeed, after this period of adjustment, these economies will emerge stronger than before. in the meantime, i hope that some perspective about the benefits of global markets will be maintained. first, we must give credit where credit is due : the capital provided by global markets has been a key factor in southeast asia ’ s exceptional growth rates and its ability to lift so many out of poverty. certainly, there are risks in tapping global markets to which no country