therefore, urge the co - operation of global and regional countries to trace and eliminate such funding programmes and to be extremely vigilant when dealing with organizations which may well be front organizations to finance terrorism. in this respect it need hardly be emphasized that financial intelligence sharing is fundamental to this strategy. the ftra enables the fius to enter into agreements with other fius to exchange information. obviously therefore, as our fiu moves forward, we will give this matter our highest priority. the international monetary fund has estimated that the aggregate amounts of funds laundered in the world could range between 2 to 5 per cent of the global gdp. given the estimated global gdp of approximately usd 48 trillion, this could range between usd 1 - 2. 4 trillion. accordingly, by any estimate the size of the problem is gigantic and merits the focus of all jurisdictions. missions from agencies such as the imf and world bank have identical goals in terms of money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. we are indeed very pleased to note that there are also many other agencies outside the imf and wb taking an active role, and often working jointly in an effort to achieve these common goals. we commend these efforts. together with the establishment of a legal and institutional framework for anti money laundering and combating terrorist financing, it is equally important to raise public awareness on issues pertaining to money laundering and financing of terrorism, and introduce more effective ways of preventing such actions by sharing experiences of other countries. it is not for nothing that the phrase “ prevention is better than cure ” has been coined. it is therefore our fervent hope that this workshop will, in the next 5 days achieve this objective and also establish a framework for a regional dialogue to : • share the lessons of success and failure ; • identify specific problems common to countries of the region ; • discuss future challenges common to participating countries particularly in the context of effective programmes already implemented to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, • identify practical means of sustaining economic development and maintaining financial system stability in the face of such terrorist threats. while thanking the commonwealth secretariat and all those who have made this conference possible, we also commend our new fiu for the initiatives it has taken to organize this international event, so early in its existence. we urge you to discuss the many issues confronting our respective countries and attempt to learn from each other as well as from the broader experiences from international experts and develop our skills and expertise. we also look forward to your report at

they can get a wider range of better and cheaper financial products and services. our vision is to put the interest of the consumer, competition, security and trust between stakeholders at the centre through european legislative initiatives. 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches last but not least, the fight against payment fraud is also a leading priority in the bnb supervisory practice, and i believe that the new european legislation will enable payment service providers to share fraud - related information with each other. this will increase consumer awareness and expand refund rights for those consumers who are victims of fraud. the new european legislation will also ensure levelling of the playing field between banks and non - bank payment service providers, and in particular by giving non - bank payment service providers access to all eu payment systems. this process will go hand in hand with setting appropriate adequate safeguards in order to ensure the right conditions for the entry of innovative financial services. thank you for your attention! 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches