, the cooperation with the ec and ecb was important as imf alone would not have been able to raise the entire quantum of emergency funds. let me now turn to the impact of the euro area crisis on saarc region. impact on south asia the euro area has traditionally been an important economic partner for south asia. the share of exports to the euro area in total exports ranged from around 38 per cent for maldives to 10 per cent for nepal with india ’ s share being 13 per cent in 2012. between 2011 and 2012, share of saarc ’ s export to euro area has contracted significantly ( table 1 ). in addition to absorbing a significant share of the region ’ s exports, it has been a source of foreign direct investment and other forms of capital flows ( lee et al. 2013 ) 4. it is interesting to note that when the euro area crisis hit the global economy in 2010, our exports to that region did not decline immediately. this was mainly because of our two major trading partners, viz., germany and france, which were doing well. in the subsequent period, as the crisis intensified, our exports to euro area declined ( chart 2 ). speech by peter praet, member of the executive board of the ecb, ‘ the crisis response in the euro area ’, beijing, 17 april 2013. lee, minsoo, donghyun park, arnelyn abdon, and gemma estrada, ( 2013 ) ‘ economic impact of eurozone sovereign debt crisis on developing asia ’ adb working paper series no. 336, january 2013. bis central bankers ’ speeches another way in which euro area crisis has impacted the south asian economies is through the finance channel. european banks have been an important source of credit to south asia. according to the bank for international settlements ( bis ), at the end of december 2012 consolidated claims of the european banks on south asia amounted to around us $ 164 billion, equivalent to 44 per cent of the region ’ s total foreign banks ’ claims. there has also been an impact through the stock markets. while deleveraging by european banks reduced lending to emerging markets, shifting of investor sentiment reduced flow to emerging stock markets ( avdjiev et al. 2012 ) 5. let me now turn to the impact on india. impact on india indian economy is significantly integrated with the euro area. the impact so far has been mainly through trade and finance channels. as a result of slowdown in euro area, the india ’

panayotis thomopoulos : the financial environment in southeast europe speech by mr panayotis thomopoulos, deputy governor of the bank of greece, at the second international banking forum for the southeast european markets economist conference, athens, 4 december 2003. * * * it is a great pleasure to address this banking forum at this juncture as i believe that the economies are turning the corner and can now start enjoying the benefits of stability and growth within the framework of closer ties with the european union. after a difficult and hesitant start in the 1990s, there is now clear evidence that the transition economies of southeastern europe have improved their macroeconomic management and enhanced their financial systems so that they can look forward to sustained and high - quality growth. greece, as the only member of the european union in the region, has a clear interest in promoting the stability and growth of all our neighbors, and i can be proud that both the public and the private sectors of greece have played a role in the emerging success story of southeastern europe. we see our neighbors'economies mainly as complementary to our own, not as competitors, and the many greek businesses that are active in the region, especially in the financial sector, are proof of the increasing collaboration between my country and its neighbors. i believe that greece will continue to make a positive contribution to the economies of the region, but, i must admit, that i draw comfort from the fact that greece is now surrounded by open, dynamic economies, and i would add friendly countries. it would be an understatement to say that we have turned a page of our history. in effect, the collapse of communism ended not the thirty, or hundred years wars, but more than one thousand years of intrabalkan conflicts and greece is fully supporting balkan countries'e. u. membership, which would further strengthen the political and economic ties between all balkan countries. let me start with a short look at the international environment that the countries in southeastern europe are facing. the overall economic situation has improved significantly during the last few months. after months when expectations of a recovery were based mostly on so - called " soft data, " like surveys of consumer and business confidence, we are now seeing real " hard data " that point to the resumption of growth in all the main regions of the world economy. all members of the eu have now emerged from recession, although the growth rate is not what we would have wished it to be. growth in the eurozone should accelerate slowly,