##e from increased productivity in a global economic environment. it is only this path that will sustain our country ’ s long - run broad - based economic and social prosperity. i had the pleasure of touring the exhibits earlier today, and was very impressed by the wide range of products on display. i am also encouraged that, despite the current difficult economic conditions, organisers are optimistic that transactions will surpass last year ’ s fifty million pula mark by an estimated ten million pula. this suggests a rebound of consumer confidence in the region. of equal importance, the organisers have appropriately arranged an investment forum, buyer - seller meetings, and several workshops. these events will contribute significantly to the achievement of the objectives of global expo botswana 2009. i would like to take this opportunity to encourage exhibitors and visitors to patronise and participate in the events. i also wish to encourage members of the public to patronise the exhibition especially on saturday when, i am reliably informed, there will be cultural performances, various delicious cuisines and other complementary activities that will, no doubt, make global expo botswana 2009 a memorable experience. director of ceremonies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, i wish to conclude by wishing all exhibitors and visitors fruitful business negotiations in the next four days of the exposition. i also commend the organisers for a sterling job in putting together this event ; you make the city of gaborone and the country proud. the acting president, honourable ministers, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is now my honour and privilege to declare global expo botswana 2009 officially open. i thank you for your attention.

international commodity prices, other supply side factors, but also from a strong domestic demand. yet, some of it is structural, as any catching - up process is inflationary in nature. higher wage growth pressure is normal, up to a point, in view of large wage differentials, migration flows, and labor market tightening. despite the wage growth, cee countries are becoming increasingly competitive, as productivity also grows. this is why the current account position of non - euro member states is better now than before the crisis. the monetary policy normalization cycle runs also at a different pace. even within cee countries, while the monetary stance remains largely accommodative, the situation is quite heterogeneous regarding inflationary expectations, policy objectives, and policy tools used. as regards romania, we started the tightening of monetary policy by hiking the rate twice this year, after further narrowing the corridor around the policy rate last year, but a gradual approach is warranted by the need to avoid sharp currency appreciation in the regional context. in our case, the policy normalization has been supported by two favorable developments in the banking sector. first, the npls ratio dropped from 22 % at end - 2013 to 6. 4 % at end - 2017, making it the largest adjustment in europe over a relatively short time period. at the core of this adjustment were conservative requirements for provisioning npls, our hands - on supervision approach, and a fiscal facility that was conducive to the development of the secondary market for npls. second, the share of local currency denominated loans in the total stock of loans has increased from one third prior to the crisis to two thirds nowadays. this reduced the contagion risk and improved the transmission mechanism of the monetary policy. a somewhat higher inflation and an earlier start in the policy normalization cycle have to be considered in view of another challenge, which is the lower level of financial intermediation. some countries are facing the dilemma recently portrayed in a bruegel institute paper, between raising inflation and decreasing appetite for risk, the latter being reflected in the lower levels of credit to gdp. the solutions adopted are diverse. while some central banks are embracing a higher inflation, and try to stimulate financial intermediation, others try to reign in inflationary expectations and have already started the tightening cycle. nevertheless, the issue of financial intermediation remains important, as credit for the corporate sector would need to replace direct fiscal incentives in most of these economies