payments and international investment position data constitute an indispensable link in the compilation of data for various components of the national accounts ( e. g., production accounts, income accounts, capital and financial accounts, and the related measurement of national wealth ). the balance of payments is directly aligned and integrated with the system of national accounts. for example, trade statistics used in the balance of payments are also included in the measure of expenditure on gdp. what is the purpose of course? this course has been arranged to help countries to build their capability to compile balance of payments statistics. the conceptual framework will be explained, sources and methodologies for the various components described, and discussions held on the many issues that are of particular concerns to the pacific island countries. the fishing industry, for example, provides the opportunity to discuss many issues including the definitions of residency and national boundaries, flows of goods, services, royalties, salaries of fishermen and so on. i realise that there is a very wide spread of experience of participants - from countries that have been compiling balance of payments for many years including quarterly statistics, through to those that do not currently compile any balance of payments statistics. this will be a particular challenge for the presenters and the participants to ensure everyone gains what they want from the course. the outcomes aimed for in the course will therefore range from increased knowledge to enable participants to return to their countries and make refinements to existing estimates, through to an increased awareness of the benefits from compiling bop which will hopefully lead to plans for development of balance of payments stats in future for countries not yet producing them. what resources are available to balance of payments compilers? there are a number of manuals and handbooks available to assist in developing and compiling balance of payments and international investment position statistics. these include both conceptual materials and very practical guidance in terms of sources and methods that are most suitable for the various elements of the system. pftac here in suva has provided a significant amount of technical assistance to balance of payments compilers in the region for about 12 years. staff at the imf headquarters in washington provides backstopping support to pftac and can also provide additional advice and assistance. i wish you well in this course, and hope that you will learn enough of the concepts and practical issues involved in the balance of payments to take home to your countries and work toward improving the range and quality of the statistics you produce. i also hope you have an enjoyable stay here in suva. thank

that would be based on collaboration, partnership and a multi - stakeholder approach. the model was embraced by all stakeholders across the public and private sectors, civil society, ngos and development partners. a national financial inclusion taskforce was formed to provide the leadership and drive to coordinate and monitor the financial inclusion strategies and goals that would be set. bis central bankers ’ speeches to assist the taskforce, three working groups were formed to handle issues centred on financial literacy, microfinance, and statistics. a fourth working group on inclusive insurance was established only recently. while i personally feel that this model has worked really well for us over the last six years, of course as chairman of the taskforce i may be a little biased. so can i suggest that at some point in our discussions today, we consider revisiting our financial inclusion structure with a view to its relevance and effectiveness as we move forward. maybe we will come to the conclusion that it is still very relevant and workable. maybe it could use a little tweaking. we have had the past six years to be able to make a good assessment. our initial goals : so what goals did we set ourselves at the first workshop in 2009? we wanted a quantitative reference number first up so we could monitor our progress. so a key goal was to reach 150, 000 unbanked fijians by the year 2014. we later tweaked this to read ‘ underserved ’ instead of ‘ unbanked ’. i am happy to say that we achieved that target in the first quarter of 2014. we also agreed to other key outcomes and these included : financial competency and financial literacy training ; creating a conducive regulatory environment ; and last but by no means least, good data collection. let me say a little about each of these. it was agreed that in order to promote greater consumer empowerment as well as increase financial competency of households, we would need to introduce financial education into the fijian schools curriculum as well as raise the awareness in parts of our adult population where it was most needed. with the schools program this strategy ensures that our next generation will be more financially competent. after a successful pilot program through 28 schools in 2012, we were able in 2013, in partnership with the ministry of education, to roll out the fined program to 907 schools impacting about 197, 000 students. the lessons in class now help our children to develop sound habits and nurture a future as financially capable and responsible adults in