is no wonder therefore, that sbp stands out in various fields : • it was the first central bank in south asia to have introduced a legal framework for microfinance in 2001 ; • it was the first central bank in south asia to develop a regulatory framework for branchless banking in 2008 ; • it was the first central bank in south asia, again, to have established an independent monetary policy committee in 2015. today, the sbp is a respected organization not only regionally, but also globally. sbp ’ s professional excellence has been recognized at various international forums. some of these, i will recall here to refresh our memories : • pakistan ranked no. 1 in the world in microfinance regulatory framework by the economist intelligence unit in 2010 and 2011, and number 5 in overall financial inclusion environment in 2015. page 2 of 4 • state bank of pakistan was voted as the best central bank in promoting islamic finance by a poll conducted by islamic finance news ( ifn ) in 2015 and 2017 ; • sbp governors have received accolades from different international organizations, which not only reflects professional excellence of the leadership, but also the institutional quality of sbp. my predecessor, ashraf wathra, was declared best central bank governor recently. earlier, dr. shamshad akhtar and dr. ishrat hussain were also conferred with such prestigious awards. similarly, sbp ’ s global partnerships with international organizations reached a new height during the tenure of yaseen anwar. not just that, but the appointment of our former governors at executive positions in leading international financial institutions, speak volume of their professional excellence. • moreover, sbp ’ s senior staff have chaired and co - chaired various groups and committees at international forums, such as alliance for financial inclusion and islamic financial services board. • not just that, but our staff has also been providing expertise to regional central banks and organizations such as saudi arabian monetary authority, bank of oman, the central bank of oman, qatar and bahrain and gulf monetary council. today, ladies and gentlemen, we are here to take stock of this institutional progress and celebrate our achievements. we will shortly play a documentary for you in which you will be able to experience this transformative journey that revolves around resilience, progress and modernization. we will also take this opportunity, ladies and gentlemen, to strategize our future based on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead of us. to deliberate on these, we are privileged to have with us former governors

distribution of economic gains, and support overall economic development. i believe events and steps like these are vital steps towards achieving this goal ; hence, we should not stop here and but continue to work towards establishing an ethical financial system. page 5 of 6 at the end, i would like to reiterate that state bank of pakistan will continue to extend its full cooperation and play due role for achieving our shared vision of a vibrant and sustainable islamic banking sector in pakistan. thank you! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * page 6 of 6