third industrial revolution. he presents a vision of medical services which may performed on a remote basis ( an example of radiological examinations in india ) as well as rendering many educational services via electronic ways of communication. formerly, the natural resources of an economy were of prior importance ; nowadays, the perspectives of an economy depend to a greater degree on the human factor. this factor is decisive, especially in new branches of the economy, related to the services sector. thanks to the development of new information and communication technologies, there has been an increase in trade in services, which - until recently - have been considered nontradable. the importance of the services sector in the economy should be stressed, as this sector constitutes a 70 - percent share of the gdp in the developed economies. the whole accounting departments or customer support call centres outsourced are only some of the services that take advantage of new technologies. some of those innovations have already become a permanent element of our reality : the possibility to purchase an airline ticket via the internet, creation of inventory control systems in it companies, a possibility to gather and process information on consumer behaviour. the aforementioned solutions embody the new forms of labour organisation and the development of new products and services, which are becoming increasingly common. research by van ark 29 indicates that the results of a comparison of the growth in labour productivity in the services sector in the usa and the eu - 15 in the past 10 years are in favour of the usa. the advantage of the usa has resulted primarily from a higher labour productivity in retail and wholesale trade and in the financial services. among the causes for the lower increase in labour productivity in the eu countries one should mention lower innovative capabilities of the european companies and a lack of reforms that could have forced the sector to take advantage of its potential. there are still regulation barriers to business activity in europe, which make it impossible to move freely across country borders 30. new information transfer technologies create a possibility of central processing of information, which is why limiting of the capability to take advantage of this process results in lower economies of scale. moreover, the development of road transport still faces regulatory barriers. finally, cultural differences, which are a natural barrier in business activity, should be mentioned. while indicating the vital role of services in building a competitive edge of the american economy, we should also relate to eu solutions in the form of the so - called services directive, which has been recently adopted by the european parliament. the basic objective of the directive, in its version proposed by

transactions as we strive towards seamless global inter - linkages. standardised documentation and practices for a number of products have already been adopted between jurisdictions through bilateral and multilateral agreements. this has facilitated issuance of financial market instruments, contributing towards enhanced liquidity in islamic financial markets and greater inter - market linkages. greater understanding and clarity on shariah matters, will also contribute towards convergence and harmonisation of such interpretations across jurisdictions and thus contribute towards the development of islamic financial products and services. realising cross - border potentials and bridging economies with its international outreach and ability to provide comprehensive financial solutions, islamic finance beckons us with a new frontier that presents new opportunities. as we enter into a more uncertain global environment, it also promptsus to revisit strategies to enhance the resilience of islamic finance. the theme of this year ’ s global islamic finance forum 2012, “ internationalisation of islamic finance : bridging economies ” focuses on the international prospects surrounding the islamic finance industry and its tremendous potential role in strengthening cross - border economic linkages. more than 500 participants from over 50 countries across the continents gather today in this forum to explore this prospect. in its featured plenary and multi - track programmes which include the regulators forum, the international shariah scholars forum, the global islamic liquidity management conference and the global islamic finance taxation forum, a new highlight is the bridging economies forum that aims to discuss the islamic finance prospects and opportunities across regions, and to explore possible market linkages that can be generated through islamic finance. several important signings of mous will also be taking place during this forum, highlighting increased commitment and international cooperation. let me now conclude with an extension of our appreciation to the panel of distinguished speakers for their contribution to giff 2012. i would also like to once again, express our gratitude to the honourable deputy prime minister of the republic of turkey, his excellency mr. ali babacan for being with us today to speak at this event. bis central bankers ’ speeches