to improve our monetary policy communication. conclusion to conclude, let me summarise the messages the mpc would like people to hear about monetary policy. we are not slamming the brakes on this economy, but we are easing off the accelerator, moving towards a more balanced or neutral interest rate setting. we do not want to slow the economy down too much, and we are cognisant of the many challenges facing domestic producers and consumers. at the same time, we also do not want to join the large group of countries in the world today which took low inflation for granted, kept policy too loose for too long and ended up way above their targets, to the great unhappiness of almost all citizens. it is a delicate balancing act, and as an independent central bank operating an inflation - targeting framework, we aim to deliver moderate interest rates and low and stable inflation over time in our policymaking decisions. thank you. page 8 of 8

benny b m popoitai : opening speech - pacific financial intelligence community plenary opening speech by mr benny b m popoitai, acting governor of the bank of papua new guinea, at the pacific financial intelligence community ( pfic ) plenary, port moresby, 16 november 2022. * * * good morning ladies and gentlemen. it is an honour to open this pacific financial intelligence community plenary this morning and i would like to begin by welcoming our international visitors : the heads of the fius of our pacific island nations and the delegations from each of the countries represented here today. i would like to open this plenary in a manner that i hope may set the tone for the next two days and indeed provide a direction of sorts for the work that is to come over the coming months and years for this financial intelligence community. pfic was established out of the need to tackle common challenges faced in our region and the need to share information and collaborate. these similar challenges range from politics, economics and financial crime types, to name a few. our region, like much of the world, finds itself at time that appears may be a crucial juncture. the relative order and stability that much of the world has enjoyed in the time since the end of the second world war has been significantly challenged by recent events. the power tussles, tensions in various quarters of world and the resurgence of global inflation and the rising costs of energy and food, have all changed the way in which we view the world, in a very, very short space of time. the lesson i believe that all of us here in this room should take from the last few years is that resilience and trust must be built within our own pacific region, by us. we cannot rely on the us or europe to provide international stability in the way that we perhaps once thought. the stability and harmony in our region cannot be left to others outside of our region to decide. we must build resilience among our pacific countries in a deliberate and systematic way ; based on the common interests we share. we must act with urgency and we must place trust in each other - as individuals, as well as nations, to achieve this. a key feature of what confronts our region us is the blurring of geopolitics, organised crime and corruption in our region. this blurring presents problems that no single country on its own can successfully address. confronting these issues will require a level of cooperation that is, i