guy quaden : financial sector development and the role of central banks in securing financial stability in a globalised economy opening address by mr guy quaden, governor of the national bank of belgium, at the 2007 international arab banking summit, brussels, 28 june 2007. * * * chairmen, ladies and gentlemen, i am very pleased to address the 2007 international arab banking summit. i would like to thank the union of arab banks and the world union of arab bankers for their invitation and congratulate them for their excellent organisation of this important event. as the issue of euro - arab banking dialogue takes centre stage, it is fitting that, after having met in rome in 2006, you have chosen to meet this year in brussels, capital of the kingdom of belgium and also of the european union ( eu ). i welcome you in this city on behalf of the belgian authorities and more in particular of the national bank of belgium, the central bank of our country. you come here at a good moment : incoming data have confirmed that economic activity in the eu and the eurozone has continued to expand at a strong pace and the outlook for the second part of this year and next year remains very encouraging. having regained more dynamism, the eu and the eurozone significantly contribute to the needed rebalancing in world economic growth. the arab region is a key partner for the european countries and both sides attach great importance to building strong, meaningful relationships. as you all know, the eu and its mediterranean partners have in 1995 created the european - mediterranean partnership, also known as the barcelona process, to lay the foundations of a new regional relationship. also, the european commission has entered into co - operation agreements with the countries of the gulf cooperation council, in 1989, and with yemen, in 1997, thus comprising the whole of the arabian peninsula. the eurosystem – namely the european central bank and the national central banks of the thirteen countries which have adopted the euro – has established a working relationship through central bank co - operation, notably with the members of the gulf co - operation council and egypt, as well as through the organisation of an annual seminar with mediterranean central banks at the level of governors. experience during the last few decades has learned that financial sector development is crucial for sustaining economic growth. a modern financial system promotes investment, mobilises savings and allows risks to be diversified, resulting in a more efficient allocation of resources. in this speech, i would like to briefly touch on two related subjects. firstly

opening remarks bangkok sustainable banking forum 2018 veerathai santiprabhob, governor of the bank of thailand monday, 23 july 2018 distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning to you all. i am delighted to welcome all of you to the bank of thailand for our very first bangkok sustainable banking forum. this forum aims to enhance greater awareness of sustainability practice in finance by bringing together leaders in the area of sustainability, showcasing best practices and efforts taken by participants from the financial sector, and identifying areas we can improve. this event is a part of a series of conferences organized throughout this year to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the bank of thailand. ladies and gentlemen, in 1987 the united nations first defined sustainability or sustainable development as “ development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs1. ” since then, this concept has served as a guiding principle for various long - term global development agendas. yet, the principal ideas of sustainability, especially of moderation, responsibility and maintaining long - term focus, hardly takes the center stage in popular media, most notably in the economic and financial headlines — where we often focus our narratives on shortterm indicators, like gdp growth, shareholders ’ earnings, stock prices, or bonus paychecks. whatever it takes today to maximize these short - term indicators is believed to be the best course of action. we often forget that our short - sighted actions also dictate and impact the path for our long - term development and well - being. we at the bank of thailand believe in the pursuit of united nations. “ our common future : world commission on environment and development. ” 1987. 1 / 6 sustainability, that it can be achieved if we maintain our focus on long - term goals. the past year we have seen many welcoming developments in our financial sector. these include, first, a number of measures were introduced to improve financial institutions ’ responsibility, such as regulations on credit cards and personal loans to address the issue of household debt, new regulatory framework on market conduct, regulations to enhance financial institution ’ s corporate governance, and a new code of conduct for banks developed by the banking community ; second, the debt clinic was set up to facilitate multi - creditor debt settlement for indebted individuals so that they can exit from the state of perpetual debt distress ; and third, a number of key financial infrastructures were established to help promote financial inclusion and transition the thai economy towards the digital