. furthermore, the fund managed by norges bank is now seen as a model showing the way for other sovereign wealth funds. bis central bankers ’ speeches even though monetary policy in norway – and sweden – is geared towards an inflation target, the development of the exchange rate cannot be ignored. it is also worth noting that both the riksbank and norges bank pursue their monetary policy in the shadow of the ecb. both central banks have to take into ac - count the effects on the exchange rate of its monetary policy, since the value of the krona greatly influences import prices and ultimately inflation. this may imply a monetary policy stance that is not optimal in terms of stabilizing the domestic economy and its financial system. in fact this is one of the main issues in economic policy in sweden and norway these days. central banking is not limited to finding and optimal strategy for monetary pol - icy. what central banks can and need to do is shaped by the developments in the whole world economy, and largely influenced by political circumstances, in - side and outside our own countries. both formal cooperation and informal ex - changes of ideas is now intense between central banks in many countries, and in particular between norges bank and the riksbank, who continue to face very similar challenges. so to round off : norway and sweden have followed one another through the centuries, in war and peace, through crises and growth. and we can be thankful that we have succeeded in moving from poverty to wealth and becoming two of the world ’ s wealthiest nations. often the central banks have been able to contribute to higher welfare, but sometimes monetary policy has unfortunately been destabilizing. our joint history is continuing, we have common challenges to face going for - ward. higher capital and labour mobility throughout the world opens new possibilities to raise welfare even further, but globalisation also require that we try to find common strategies across countries. we can also enjoy our similarities and continue teasing one another when we meet on the sports field. as sweden now follows its team in euro 2016, we can ’ t help but ask, oh where ’ s norway? but on the other hand we can expect a lot of teasing from you in the next world cup ski event! bis central bankers ’ speeches

union ’ s future institutional shape, the foundations for a lasting solution should be in place. 3. closing remarks let me now return to japan, our host country. 25 years have passed since the bundesbank opened its representative office in tokyo. since then, it has successfully helped improve our understanding of the japanese economy. many of the developments which our office reported proved to be of importance for our own policies. let me mention the lessons from the build - up, bursting and clean - up of the japanese financial bubble and, in particular, the bank of japan ’ s experience in the fields of financial stability and unconventional monetary policy. another example is the lehman collapse in september of 2008. both the bundesbank ’ s office in tokyo and the bank of japan ’ s office in frankfurt provided an efficient channel for a vital bilateral flow of information. germany stood side by side with japan in the difficult times following the tragic events of 11 march, 2011. we are pleased to learn that the japanese economy is on a path to recovery. against this background i am particularly happy that the anniversary of our representative office coincides with the inauguration of our new premises. moreover, within these enlarged premises, we will set up a trading office which will begin operating this month. my colleague joachim nagel will now give you more information in this regard. bis central bankers ’ speeches