of countries globally. in 2008 it was decided to increase the share of emerging market assets in the fund ’ s benchmark portfolio. thus, investments in these markets have grown. the government has stated that the expected annual return on the fund will be close to 4 per cent over time. since its establishment, the average return has been 2. 7 per cent. it was only a little more than a year ago that we witnessed the steepest fall in global capital markets in our time. by maintaining the fund ’ s risk profile it is fairly probable that the average return will gradually approach 4 per cent again. last year was the best in the fund ’ s history. gains in international equity and fixed income markets led to a record annual return of 25. 6 per cent in 2009. 3 however, developments in government pension fund global – annual report 2009. 2009 must to a large extent be viewed in light of the financial crisis and are mainly due to a reversal of the negative results in 2007 and 2008. multilateral approach to global challenges finally, let me turn to the international economic order and developments in multilateral institutions over the past few years. the international order and norway in recent years, increasingly assertive non - statutory bodies have emerged in the area of international economic and financial collaboration, most notably the g20. when the global financial crisis unfolded, the g20 4 rose to the task. nevertheless, i believe that the role of non - statutory bodies and the statutory institutions, such as the international monetary fund ( imf ) 5, must be reconsidered to promote the necessary multilateral approach to global governance. norway has a long - held tradition of participating actively in multilateral cooperation and institutions has actively backed the multilateral responses to the financial crisis. as a global investor with an open market economy, norway has a strong and vested interest in the wellbeing of global financial markets. this interest is shared with most market participants, large and small. we have a common interest in a market - based international order, supporting a level playing field and sound economic governance. lessons from the crisis a key lesson from the global crisis is the need for multilateral cooperation and collective action. it relates to the framework for polices on prevention, resolution, reform and implementation. it also relates to the institutional set - up. the imf has played a pivotal role in presenting the initial lessons from the crisis, in providing finance to countries with temporary balance of payments needs, and in preparing the overall framework for

david dodge : our approach to monetary policy - inflation targeting remarks by mr david dodge, governor of the bank of canada, to the regina chamber of commerce, regina, saskatchewan, 12 december 2005. * * * i am happy to have the opportunity to speak in regina during saskatchewan's centennial year. throughout 2005, the people of saskatchewan have been celebrating the many remarkable contributions that this province and its citizens have made to canada. gerald bouey and gordon thiessen, two of my predecessors as governor, are examples of individuals with deep saskatchewan roots who have made great contributions to the bank and to our country. as this province turns 100, you can be proud not only of your history, but also of your modern, increasingly diversified economy that positions saskatchewan for success in the future. this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the bank of canada, and we too have taken the time to celebrate our contributions to canada. at such times, while it is appropriate to look back and celebrate history and accomplishments, it is also a good opportunity to look forward and think about where we are headed. in this spirit, i'd like to talk to you today about one of our main responsibilities ; that is, the conduct of monetary policy. i want to recount a bit of the bank's history and talk about how we developed our current framework for conducting monetary policy. at the bank of canada, we strongly believe that targeting inflation is the best way for us to fulfill our mandate to canadians. i also want to look forward a bit, and talk about the future of inflation targeting, as we prepare to renew our inflation - targeting agreement with the federal government next year. the bank's mandate let me begin with a brief discussion of the bank's legislative mandate. the preamble to the bank of canada act instructs us to " regulate credit and currency in the best interest of the nation. " it goes on to say that the bank should mitigate " fluctuations in the general level of production, trade, prices and employment, so far as may be possible within the scope of monetary action, and generally... promote the economic and financial welfare of canada. " so the question is, how can the bank best provide the conditions for sustainable economic growth, bearing in mind the words in our mandate : " so far as may be possible within the scope of monetary action "? over time, it has become clear that the best way for monetary policy to promote sustainable economic