clear that even today international liquidity and macroprudential measures can be understood quite differently. recognizing these deficiencies, i consider that there is a great value added in strengthening research activities in the central banks of our region. one way to do this is to support more vigorously the work of cemla. research and divulgation activities are essential in order to assure the relevance of the center. even though training is its fundamental activity, it cannot be sustained without a continuous program of economic research, nurtured by the active participation of central bank members. something similar happens with technical assistance, which should be a link between the institution and its members. during the last decades, cemla played a fundamental role in increasing and facilitating the collaboration among central banks in latin america and i am sure that this will not change in the following decades. it is precisely the permanence of institutions like cemla that helps to maintain and improve our common goals. they are the institutional witnesses of our shared work and responsibility. we are able to detect the change, and the evolution of our goals thanks to the continued presence of our institutions, of our will to continue collaborating. thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches

agustin carstens : cooperation among central banks at the beginning of the xxi century keynote speech by mr agustin carstens, governor of the bank of mexico, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the center for latin american monetary studies ( cemla ), mexico city, 19 july 2012. * * * good evening, everyone. we are pleased to welcome you in mexico and we are honored to share this dinner with you to commemorate the 60th anniversary of cemla. we are very proud of the fact that the center for latin american monetary studies is celebrating its 60th anniversary. we are particularly thankful to javier guzman for the invitation and i congratulate him for having organized this conference to discuss the importance of cooperation among central banks at the beginning of the xxi century. precisely this spirit of collaboration was the foundation in the creation of cemla. today, just like at its beginnings, such spirit is the element supporting the institutional bonds among its members, providing cohesion and substance to the joint efforts aimed at confronting similar challenges, recognizing, at the same time, the differences and peculiarities of each member, which add richness and variety to the cooperation and collaboration. nowadays, cemla ’ s main objective is to promote a better understanding of the core issues in central banking in latin america and the caribbean, giving priority to the following : a ) monetary stability, b ) financial stability, and c ) regional and international coordination. there is no doubt that in the last 60 years the economic environment in latin america and the caribbean, and of course around the world, has changed considerably. for example, central banks ’ functions have evolved throughout these six decades. it has been a long institutional development, which emerged from a relatively narrow vision where central banks ’ key role was to provide money to the economies. later on, latin america went through a period when our institutions put an emphasis on credit allocation policies. finally, with greater institutional independence came the next step towards a modern central bank, where the main priority is the mandate to procure monetary and financial stability. thanks to this transition, the concurrent periods of economic and financial crises in the region came to an end. it must be acknowledged that major advances have been accomplished in this regard. however, the fact that we have greater macroeconomic stability in latin america does not mean that we can lower our guard. on the contrary, we should maintain discipline in our fiscal and monetary policy frameworks and strengthen regional cooperation in order to face external shocks to which