conscious of the need to further strengthen the payments & settlement systems in pakistan to reduce inherent settlement risks and bringing efficiency to the financial system. we look forward to global entities, like deutsche bank, in performing their due role to facilitate providing awareness & expertise to further strengthen the financial system. gtb will help in providing fully integrated risk mitigation, settlement, financing and information solutions, which help unlock working capital trapped in inefficient order - to - cash and purchase - to - pay cycles. it will also assist businesses to achieve greater integration of the supply chain, which facilitates greater efficiencies and streamlined workflows, whilst reducing operating costs and accelerating payment cycles. more efficient trade processes also mitigate risk exposure and help the businesses optimise returns from trade assets.

? ” that award - winning scientist and environmentalist, dr. david suzuki, delivered next door. that theme remains of great significance because, as a small open economy, we are very vulnerable to the disastrous effects of fossil fuels. we are especially vulnerable to the environmental degradation that fossil fuels cause. global warning created by fossil fuels makes us susceptible to the hazards of climate change. a recent imf blog quoted scientists as warning that in the absence of mitigating actions, global temperatures may rise by more than four degrees celsius above pre - industrial revolution levels by the end of the century. this phenomenon will lead to inundation of low - lying island states and extreme weather events, the scientists predict. the attendant beach erosion would bode ill for our main industry tourism. indeed, we in the caribbean are among the top 25 most vulnerable nations exposed to shifting 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches weather patterns and global climate change. and we have already started to experience the extreme weather conditions about which scientists warn. we only have to flashback to dominica 2017 and recall how irma and maria wrecked our neighbour. those storms wiped out over 200 percent of dominica ’ s gdp in fewer than two days. that is an astronomical cost to pay and requires sustained coordinated global action to minimise the impact on small island economies like ours. and this is not the only price that comes along with our dependence on fossil fuels. high fuel prices impinge barbados ’ economic growth, stymie our competitiveness, and erode our foreign reserves, the lifeblood of our economy. in 2008, when oil prices hovered around us $ 90 per barrel, our balance of payments felt the impact. as the cost of fuel imports sky rocketed, shipping costs also rose, pushing up the price of imported goods. these increasing costs had an inflationary effect, while our valuable foreign exchange was used to help pay for these imports. high oil prices do have ripple effects for us. consider the savings in foreign exchange, therefore, if we were to move to renewables, harnessing the sun, wind, water, and now biological resources and organic waste. these savings have the potential to facilitate projects that stimulate greater economic activity and fuel growth. today, the bank is concerned about the current global uncertainty, created in part by geopolitical tensions, surrounding the price of oil. significant increases in the price of oil now that we are stabilising the economy represent a distinct downside risk that could offset our economic