michael gondwe : facilitating trade and building economies on the african continent opening remarks by dr michael gondwe, governor of the bank of zambia, at the african trade insurance agency workshop for bankers, lusaka, 10 september 2013. * * * the secretary general of comesa, h. e sindiso ngwenya ; the director general of zambia development agency, mr andrew chipwende ; the ati chief investor relations manager, mr cyprien sakubu ; the representative for zambia, mr pizzaro lukhanda ; resource persons ; distinguished invited guests ; members of the press ; ladies and gentlemen. it is my honour and privilege to be amongst you all this morning. i wish to express my appreciation to the african trade insurance agency for extending an invitation to me to deliver a keynote address on this important workshop. let me begin by commending the african trade and insurance agency ( ati ) for the important role they continue to play in facilitating trade not only in this country but in the entire region and indeed the continent at large. i am no stranger to the role that ati plays in helping to build economies in the countries that it operates as i have been a client and a supporter of ati ’ s products and services in particular in my previous life as head of the pta bank. i have seen first - hand, the impact that ati has had in many countries, including in zambia, where ati has facilitated trade and investments worth more than $ 925 million since its inception. i am further informed that ati has so far this year supported zambian companies and businesses by offering insurance cover to some very large and essential projects primarily in the energy, mining, manufacturing and agriculture sectors valued at over $ 726 million. the agency has also continued to assist many african countries by facilitating foreign direct investments with its political risk insurance that protects investors. ladies and gentlemen, the role that trade plays in the economic growth and development of a country cannot be emphasised. there are many regions and countries of the world that have been able to lift their peoples from poverty to prosperity through trade. however, although africa in general and zambia in particular has an economy which is characterized by a relatively high degree of openness, trade has not been utilized to an extent of achieving rapid and sustainable economic development necessary to eliminate poverty. this failure for trade to serve as a catalyst for sustainable economic development could be attributed in part to the nature of africa ’ s export trade which is heavily

regard, work to make sure that the public pays close attention to what the bank says. and such authority is not bestowed from the outside, but must be built up from within ourselves. it can be established only when we cultivate our abilities. our words and our will alone do not suffice. it also goes without saying that credibility must be underpinned by true ability. dear friends and colleagues, the crisis that the world economy is now undergoing is an abnormal situation. what is clear, however, is that overcoming it does not mean a return to the pre - crisis situation. the economy has a tendency to change dynamically, a characteristic that has been further reinforced by the modern trends of rapid globalization and informatization. there is a likelihood of risk and uncertainty growing greater the more dynamic the economy is, and at the same time spreading rapidly the more informatized it is. as the world moves closer to forming a single economy, we have learned the hard way that sectors have become much more inter - connected. we must redouble our efforts to adapt to changes, so as not to become estranged or left behind in this process of global transformation. efforts for policy adjustment between the united states and china to resolve the global imbalances, overcoming the challenges to euro system stability posed by the fiscal crises in some eurozone countries, the global wealth shift following the emergence of the g20 and the rapid expansion of asian economic powers, fixing the financial system so as to rein in economic risk and uncertainty, and redefining the roles of the international financial institutions : those are just a few of the core elements that will shape our drive to establish a new global economic framework. an appropriate solution to our country ’ s domestic problems can only be derived from the understanding of all these challenges. regrettably, however, we must bear in mind that there is no textbook solution to guide us in the future. we will be unable to find the correct prescription through approaches based upon our previous understandings of the economy. the current state of affairs requires that we respond wisely by thinking deeply and mustering all our wits to grasp the natures of the problems. international policy coordination may, on the one hand, currently be emphasized because the effects of particular policies adopted by any one country are limited in an open economy. this means that individual countries must cooperate with one another to maximize their policies ’ impacts. on the other hand, the current international policy cooperation may also have the positive result of reducing