the region. saarcfinance : the journey saarcfinance was established in 1998 as a network of our central bank governors and finance secretaries to facilitate dialogue on macroeconomic policies and the exchange of mutual experiences and ideas. saarcfinance received formal recognition in january 2002 at the 11th saarc summit held in kathmandu, nepal. over the last two decades, cooperation between our central banks has expanded and strengthened. the swap facility, which has been the cornerstone of this cooperation, has played a vital role in helping to manage external sector pressures during the pandemic. india has also extended financial support in the form of a number of credit lines to saarc partners. policy interface, technical assistance, capacity building and knowledge exchange have all played a vital role in deepening this engagement. in particular, research and policy driven collaborative studies, and symposiums and seminars such as this one, have facilitated this whole endeavour by bringing about greater appreciation of the issues, challenges and successes experienced by each country and the region as a whole. to cite some fulfilled deliverables under the belt of saarcfinance, the governors ’ group meetings have formalised our cooperation and dialogue on macroeconomic conditions and policies. the saarcfinance website was developed and launched in 2011. the saarcfinance database went live on may 26, 2016 at the governors'symposium held in mumbai. the first issue of the half - yearly saarcfinance e - newsletter was published in december 2006. during india ’ s chair in 2020 - 21, the portal called ‘ saarcfinance sync ’ was created as a network of connectivity among our central banks. the scope and coverage of the scholarship scheme was expanded by including more universities, more central banking related courses and by increasing both the scholarship amounts and the number of scholarships that may be granted in a year. efforts have also been made to revamp the saarcfinance newsletter with a new design and format and by expanding its ambit to topical articles. our virtual seminars kept alive our engagement through the pandemic. the financial inclusion platform, a repository of initiatives taken by saarc central banks to promote financial inclusion and financial literacy, has also facilitated policy making by enriching it with pan - regional perspectives. the measures we have taken to deepen cooperation on capacity building are also noteworthy, especially the collaborative studies on a variety of topics. macroeconomic developments : opportunities and challenges our countries have come together

opening remarks by gerardo esquivel hernandez, deputy governor of banco de mexico, on the occasion of the 16th annual conference of the international operational risk working group ( iorwg ) mexico city, september 20, 2022 good morning, good afternoon, good evening, everyone. on behalf of banco de mexico, i am pleased to welcome you to the 16th annual conference of the international operational risk working group ( iorwg ), hosted by banco de mexico, and jointly organized along with banco de espana and the federal reserve bank of philadelphia. this event takes place in a context in which the covid - 19 pandemic has tested the resilience of countries and institutions, including central banks. we have faced unprecedented challenges to achieve an extremely difficult balance between different objectives : maintaining the continuity of central banks'operations, prioritizing the health of the staff, and making sure that central banks are able to fully perform their functions and attain their objectives and purposes. although central banks already had operational continuity strategies, most of them were not entirely prepared for the type of contingency we experienced during the pandemic. however, the mere existence of these strategies was a key element that helped us to rapidly find new ways to perform and maintain operations. in fact, the pandemic contingency transformed our institutions into even more resilient organizations, capable of coping with adverse scenarios, by developing prevention, response, adaptation, recovery, and learning mechanisms. the degree of commitment and responsibility that we have with our institutions, which is a fundamental pillar of financial stability in our countries, was truly brought out during this emergency. in terms of resilience, we rapidly adapted our work schemes and transitioned to a general remote work setting which, in the case of banco de mexico, had only been implemented as a business continuity strategy for critical processes and in very specific areas. by doing so, we confirmed that the central bank staff is the most important and valuable asset of the institution. its capabilities, solidarity, adaptability, and flexibility were key elements in getting through the pandemic, and contributed decisively to fulfill the mission of our institution uninterruptedly. the lessons learned from what we have undergone over the last two years will certainly strengthen us as central banks. we must now adjust to the challenges that this new environment imposes on us. we are now moving from a world of face - to - face interaction to a hybrid reality that has allowed us to broaden the possibilities