transition the country to high - income status. as indicated in the programme, the line - up of speakers and roundtable discussions will articulate the history and impact of policy development and industrialisation efforts ; the challenges botswana faces ; the consequences of not reforming or not responding appropriately ; narrate the experiences of more successful jurisdictions in transiting to high - income status ; and put forward, for evaluation, initiatives and agenda for transformation. fortunately, it is propitious that the workshop is held in the same week that the first budget speech of the 12th parliament was delivered by the honourable minister of finance and economic development ; thus an opportunity to examine prospective initiatives coming from this workshop alongside the most recent policy pronouncements by the government. for my role this morning, allow me to perhaps preface and anticipate what is to come during the workshop by highlighting a few areas that could be top of our minds as we appraise prospects for transformation. first, given the challenges the country faces, there is a need to acknowledge and embrace the transformation aspirations of the government, including the transition to a knowledgebased economy, cluster industrialisation approach and highincome status. in this regard, national policy dialogue and agenda should be on identification, prioritisation and sequencing of reforms, as well as urgent development of effective implementation frameworks and approaches. overall, policies and their implementation, institutional energy and social engagement should focus sufficiently on attainment of the vision 2036 aspirations. second, is to highlight the misaligned nexus between macroeconomic stability, economic growth and development outcomes ( economic diversification, inclusive growth, employment, in equality and poverty reduction ). here, we need to also recognise that, while previously all elements of macroeconomic stability were well anchored, the recent past clearly shows a transition to structural government budget deficits and resultant deterioration of fiscal buffers. therefore, while the economic benefits from macroeconomic stability remain sub - optimal and there is need for substantial improvement, it is now also necessary to urgently address sustainability of the fiscal position and evaluate opportunities to rationalise the role of government and domestic resource mobilisation and funding options. third, and related to the first two ( that is, identification of new sources of growth and impact on fiscal position ) is the demonstrable nearing of the end of the diamond era, because of the combination of exhaustion of the mineral resource, increasing relative costs of production, changing lifestyles and consumer choices, including the impact of synthetic diamonds. the fourth

radovan jelasic : start of the ecb / escb needs analysis programme in belgrade introductory statement by mr radovan jelasic, governor of the national bank of serbia, at the press conference on the occasion of the signing of the protocol between the european central bank, the national bank of serbia, the european agency for reconstruction and the delegation of the european commission to the republic of serbia, belgrade, 1 september 2008. * * * ladies and gentlemen, our honorable guests, i would like to express a special gratitude to ms. gertrude tumpel - gugerell, a member of the executive board of the ecb, mr. josep lloveras, head of delegation of the european commission to the republic of serbia, mr. daniel giuglaris, head of the ear operational centre in serbia, as well as to the representatives of the ecb and 9 national central banks of the european system of central banks ( escb ), out of 17 participating in the project, being present here and taking part in this, for us, a very historical event. signing the protocol today among the parties mentioned above marks a beginning of the realization of the “ needs analysis for the national bank of serbia ” project aimed to identify the gap that the national bank of serbia needs to cover in order to meet the standards of european system of central banks. the subject of analysis will be six work areas in the competence of the national bank of serbia. they will be thoroughly examined by experts from the european central bank and 17 partner central banks involved in the project over the next nine months, by the end of may of 2009. this project will lay down the roadmap for the national bank of serbia to the escb. the road to the eu is not an event but a process that, among all else, requires us to build up strong and efficient institutions and to strengthen administrative and human capacities. the national bank of serbia has so far been positively proactive and i can assure you that we will continue to be the engine of the serbian transition process in the future as well. this is the first project ever between the ecb / ecsb and the nbs and it is a direct proof of the strong determination of our institution to meet the european standards of central banking. actually, as early as during its incorporation in 1884, the national bank of serbia showed strong commitment to the european values, and in that very same year incorporated the best european practices into the first law on the