jurisdiction cannot be overemphasized. some recent events related to security breaches in banking sector underscore the importance of enhanced safety and security measures, especially in the domain of international payments. ladies and gentlemen, now, there is no denying that a direct implication of these measures will be an increase in the cost of correspondent banking services and consequently cost of transactions to tackle this, innovative solutions need to be explored. for example, in the saarc region, we can create a correspondent banking model that will facilitate smaller banks and provide services at lower cost, while also adequately managing risks. one way of doing this can be to designate one bank in each of our countries that will provide correspondent services to all the respondents in their respective jurisdictions. these designated correspondent banks can then interact with each other to facilitate payments and settlements within the saarc region sounds primitive but can be good starting point. this, i am sure, will reduce transaction costs, while at the same time mitigate risks, especially those related to anti money laundering and counter financing of terrorism. finally, i will request all of you to take full advantage of this seminar to discuss the challenges facing the correspondent banking business and then suggest regulatory measures that can be adopted to strengthen the regional correspondent banking framework. a modern, intra - regional payment and trade facilitation system is paramount for our collective economic growth and prosperity. i wish you a pleasant stay in the beautiful city of islamabad and hope you find time to explore the surroundings. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

, and 0. 8 percent each for fiscal 2019 and 2020. i also hold the view that the bank's baseline scenario has been maintained, in which japan's economy is likely to continue its moderate expansion. as the reason for this, i would like to highlight two positive factors for the economic outlook. the first is the strength in business fixed investment, which i mentioned earlier. in addition to the high growth in the investment amount itself, i am reassured by the fact that firms in a wide range of industries have been planning a variety of investments, such as ( 1 ) that intended for domestic capacity expansion, ( 2 ) that in research and development, ( 3 ) that aiming at improving efficiency and saving labor, and ( 4 ) that aiming at enhancing business continuity arrangements in preparation for times of disaster or other emergency. the second positive factor is that, fortunately, the effects of this summer's natural disasters on japan's economic activity are likely to be only temporary. according to information we obtained from, for example, interviews with firms conducted by the bank's branches, many of the firms for which production and distribution were undermined already have accelerated their production to offset the impact of the disasters. moreover, public investment toward restoration and rebuilding is projected to take hold going forward. although the extent to which the disasters affect inbound demand was a matter of concern at first, such demand has been showing faster recovery than expected, partly reflecting successful results of the government's and the private sector's provision of relevant information to the public. i believe that efforts that take advantage of lessons learned in the past have been playing a role in post - disaster restoration and rebuilding this time as well. 3. uncertainties regarding economic activity meanwhile, there are various uncertainties regarding the baseline scenario of the outlook for japan's economic activity. on this point, risks recently appear to be tilted to the downside, particularly regarding developments in overseas economies. specifically, risks to overseas economic developments include the following : the u. s. macroeconomic policies and their impact on global financial markets ; the consequences of protectionist moves and their effects ; developments in emerging and commodity - exporting economies including the effects of the two aforementioned factors ; negotiations on the united kingdom's exit from the european union ( eu ) and their effects ; the fiscal problem in italy ; and geopolitical risks. of these risks, i remain especially concerned about protectionist moves ; in particular, the trade friction between the united states and