beneficial to everybody, including exports sector, and such beneficial effect has two aspects. first, it increases efficiency of operations of economic entities. when inflation is low, changes in prices give an important signal to producers when taking decisions on what to produce, what to buy, how much to put aside for savings, etc. because changes in prices represent something concrete, a change in either demand or supply. on the other hand, when inflation is high, it is difficult to interpret changes in prices – we cannot know whether demand for such product is increasing or a change in price is actually a result of the general increase in prices. investment decisions taken in the environment of low inflation are almost always better than those taken in the environment of high and variable inflation. for that particular reason, most economists believe that economies operating at a lower level of inflation have a higher average growth rate than those in which the rate of inflation is higher. second, low inflation is beneficial to the exports sector as well as to the economy in general as it induces lowering of interest rates. i can safely say today that, despite all the shocks to which our economy ( and not only ours ) is exposed, inflation is under control. many may ask : if inflation is under control, why are interest rates still high in real terms? there is not much enthusiasm in serbia today for saving money even though interest rates are quite high, but people are very enthusiastic when it comes to borrowing at such rates. thus, regardless of the fact that we assess current interest rates as high in real terms, we borrow more and save less. therefore, my second message reads as follows : the best option for the nbs is to persist in its attempts to attain low and stable rate of inflation in order to ensure low interest rates in real terms. but what about the exchange rate? is it true that appreciation of the exchange rate keeps inflation under control by putting an enormous burden on the exports sector? i wish to underline that the monetary policy implemented by the nbs aimed to accomplish only the main objective which is defined by the law – „ to achieve and maintain price stability “. during the period when we were raising the key policy rate because of increased inflationary pressures at end - august, we managed to strengthen the dinar. tight monetary policy was indispensable in order to keep inflation within the announced target range, which in this year is closer to the lower bound of the projected range, and at the same time, making sure that we will

test environment. ladies and gentlemen, in their papers many authors assess that the impact of wars, empires, philosophies and religions on social development was not as profound as technological progress, since it turned the curve of social development by ninety degrees. it is also the fact that financial services are incomparably more accessible and faster today. yet, instead of wondering what the future will be like in ten years, we should focus on what will not change. for me, this is mankind and what is good for us. sustainable growth, which is everyone's goal, cannot be reached by sprinting or running a marathon because there are no final victories in our line of work. words are the beginning, but only actions and results speak about all of us. in the spirit of the title of the first panel – everyone should move from words to deeds. and deeds will remain the nbs's mode of operation! what is important is that we all have a choice! we choose to be the leaders of development, which means exposure to risk, or we chose to be followers, which means missed opportunities. the nbs proves that we can have both! global conditions in the past few years have presented central banks with a choice between price stability, economic growth and financial stability. we have ensured that inflation returns within the target band and we have preserved the country's financial stability, as well as economic growth, which is returning to high pre - pandemic rates! that is why macroeconomic stability and structural reforms are our key potential and our key legacy for future generations. but it is also important that we jointly look for the best solutions and that the private sector invests smartly in development and sustainable growth. that is why we are here. i wish you a successful second conference! 5 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches