reserve bank of fiji ladies and gentlemen, various country studies have shown that when people are financially literate and have access to appropriate financial services there is greater potential for socio and economic development and opportunities for people to work their way out of poverty. as i have mentioned throughout this speech, much has already been done by the stakeholders here today in our drive towards full financial inclusion. we can perhaps give ourselves a little pat on the back. however, the momentum must continue. and this is why we are all here! we each still have a part to play. the reserve bank pledges its ongoing support to continue the role we have taken on. a role which we felt so strongly about that it required us to create a new department in order to facilitate the need that was evolving. in addition to what we have been doing, the bank is also currently reviewing and developing an appropriate consumer protection framework mechanism to provide minimal standards both for consumer empowerment and market conduct. to this end we are working with other central banks in peer learning and sharing of lessons learnt and best practices. we will continue to budget for and facilitate and promote financial literacy during the financial inclusion and microfinance expositions that we organise around the country. we encourage our fellow stakeholders to advocate this important issue and are monitoring and collating data to see where this can be effectively used. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, the theme for the workshop is an apt one : “ financial literacy and competency for all ”, clearly with the emphasis on the all. the focus of this workshop is to develop and ensure that there is a policy in place at national level to support and empower both consumers and stakeholders. it is about empowering and making available necessary information, knowhow and tools, for all citizens to be able to make informed financial decisions. this is particularly so for vulnerable groups, such as the bis central bankers ’ speeches poor and underserved. this has to be a national agenda. every fijian must take ownership of this. our decisions today impact the later generation and it is essential that this is taken seriously. learning never stops. knowledge is accumulated over time with each passing day. what we deliberate and strategize over the next one and a half days will impact the lives of each and every individual in fiji. take a moment to realize this fact that the decisions made today will make a change. let us make it happen! with these words, i declare this workshop open and wish you all the very best in your deliberations

flow freely around the globe. technology has provided the locomotive for these to reach the remote parts of the globe. so while we may say or feel in fiji that we do not need to worry to much about these activities, let me tell you today that the evidences show otherwise. fiji is not immune. recent arrests have surprised everyone that such sophisticated crimes can happen under our very noses. we are part of the global village whether we like it or not. i believe that globalization is here to stay. therefore, while the center of these international crimes is definitely not in fiji, their ramifications will reach us. to be successful, the fight against crime must be a universal one. like water which will find its way to the lowest possible level, criminal will find the easiest spot through which to operate or launder their illegal funds. fiji must take its place in this crusade. we must join the global community in taking all necessary measures to make life difficult for these criminals. the global financial system is now under immense stress. but it has evolved and matured particularly in the last 20 years and is now much harder today to hide criminally derived funds then it was before that. unfortunately, criminals are also rising to the occasion and changing money laundering methods and techniques to overcome these barriers. that is exactly why we are here today at fiji ’ s first national anti - money laundering conference – to protect fiji from money laundering. public awareness is an important weapon in our battle. the fiu has been busy in undertaking this public awareness. such conferences as this that bring everyone together in one room are extremely useful. i would like to acknowledge this and congratulate all of you for your participation. i thank the fiu for this initiative and the arrangements made for the conference. establishment of the fiu the financial intelligence unit is spearheading our fight against this crime. i would therefore like to say something briefly on the establishment and the current arrangement of the fiu. for many years the reserve bank of fiji has been following the progress in the international efforts to fight money laundering. it was quite obvious that every country was being asked to take the necessary measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. we convinced government that fiji also needed to do the same. as the custodian of the financial system, it was quite obvious to me that the reserve bank will need to spearhead the work on anti money laundering which we did. the fiu was then temporarily set up in the reserve bank as we developed