eddie yue : opening remarks - hong kong academy of finance 5th anniversary and financial leaders programme graduation ceremony opening remarks by mr eddie yue, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the hong kong academy of finance 5th anniversary and financial leaders programme graduation ceremony, hong kong, 13 december 2024. * * * a very warm welcome to all of you for joining us today to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the hong kong academy of finance ( aof ) and the 3rd financial leaders programme graduation ceremony. back in 2018, with the financial industry becoming increasingly globalised and complex, the financial secretary tasked the hong kong monetary authority ( hkma ) to commission an experts group to consider how to further enhance hong kong's " soft power " as an international financial centre ( ifc ). the experts group concluded that cultivating this " soft power " in practice required a robust talent pool in leadership ranks and a strong local research base to further elevate hong kong's competitiveness and profile as an ifc on the global stage. with this in mind, the aof was established in 2019 as a collaboration among the four financial regulators in hong kong, namely the hkma, the securities and futures commission, the insurance authority, and the mandatory provident fund schemes authority. the mission of the aof was twofold : ( i ) to serve as a centre of excellence for developing financial leadership ; and ( ii ) to act as a repository of knowledge in monetary and financial research, including applied research. three aof fellows – norman [ chan, senior adviser of the hong kong academy of finance ], moses [ cheng, non - official member of the executive council ], and tony [ neoh, co - chairman, the asian academy of international law ] – who played a significant role in conceptualising the idea of the aof, are here with us today, and will share their insights on the aof's progress in achieving its strategic objectives in a panel session later. before that, let me first share a few observations. in fact, the aof was born during a rather testing time back five years ago. right after its launch, hong kong faced a series of challenges from social unrest to the global pandemic. but through these adversities, the aof managed to stay nimble and innovative, and still succeeded in making meaningful progress across several key areas. firstly, the aof has built up a strong and diverse membership base comprising nearly 400 senior executives from across the financial

our colleagues here in minsk looked on with great interest as the project took shape. during the implementation phase, the polish colleagues took on the project components payment systems and risk management, the lithuanians handled the banking supervision and financial risk management components, and the bundesbank colleagues were responsible for the financial consumer protection and communication policy components. our counterparts at the national bank of belarus brought a strong work ethic and commendable commitment to the table right from the outset. we were all united by an all - round determination to make the project a success and by the “ corporate spirit ” that central bankers around the world feel they belong to. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches at today ’ s concluding celebration, everyone involved in this joint project can look back on the months of hard work and in - depth treatment of the subject matter, on the many discussions of different professional and personal perspectives, and on the host of good personal contacts, and perhaps even friendships, that have grown from it. 4 closing words of gratitude ladies and gentlemen, having said all that, allow me to close with a few words of thanks to the people behind the project. thank you mr kalechits for embarking on this “ european adventure ” and for being open to the idea of eu twinning not just from the beginning but over the entire timeline as a project manager. i ’ d also like to thank mr samecki and ms kuniyoshi for your interest in forming a consortium between your institutions and the deutsche bundesbank and for the large - scale staff support you gave to the project. my thanks also go to ms wiktorin for bringing eu twinning to belarus and for your constant positive presence at the side of the participating central banks as they jumped in at the deep end. and finally, thank you to all of you who have made your own personal contribution to the success of the project and whose names i wouldn´t be able to mention now without running out of time : the managers of the components, the visiting experts and all those who took on the vital administrative work. the great jean monnet once said of europe : “ we are not allying states, we are bringing together people ”. 1 in this spirit, i hope that the eu twinning project with the national bank of belarus will not be the last one. thank you for your attention. 1 1 “ nous ne coalisons pas des etats, nous unissons les hommes. ” speech in washington on