chairman, when a country attains price stability, economic growth on sustained basis is likely to follow. accelerated economic growth, of at least 8 % per year, is a sure way of ensuring that most of the mdgs are attained in our developing countries. this has the positive impact of reducing poverty levels of the people as it increases their disposable incomes and eventually improve their standard of living. ( f ) reduction of poverty usually, some people think that achievement of low inflation is not important to the achievement of mdgs. this assertion should be dismissed using macroeconomic analysis and modelling, which i expect the participants at this workshop to actively be involved in. even a simple econometric analysis will show that high inflation in a country erode peoples ’ disposable incomes and, therefore, reduces their purchasing power, particularly the vulnerable that may not have the resources and skills to hedge or protect themselves against http : / / www. unmillennuimproject. org / reports / fullreport. htm. the effects of high inflation. attainment of low and stable inflation, therefore, leads to people particularly the poor being able to afford to buy the goods and services that they need in order for them to lead a decent life. low inflation implies that more people will have stable or improved income that may raise them above the poverty datum line and thus reduce the high incidences of poverty. financial system stability in addition to the attainment of price stability using monetary policy, the central bank ’ s other pillar is the responsibility of ensuring financial system stability. financial system stability is the prevention of disruptions to the financial sector that are likely to cause significant costs to real output. it compliments monetary policy implementation, as monetary policies are transmitted through financial institutions. if the financial system is unstable, monetary policy will not be effective. in summary, the central bank, such as ours, has a key role in the attainment of the mdgs through the implementation of appropriate monetary and supervisory policies that ensure price and financial system stability. macroeconomic analysis and modelling are key components in arriving at sound and effective macroeconomic policies which will contribute to poverty reduction through the acceleration of economic growth and facilitate the achievement of the mdgs. in a nutshell, mr chairman, one can simply state that low inflation coupled with a developed and stable financial system, will enhance higher economic growth. sustained and higher growth will create more jobs and subsequently increase people ’ s income. an increase in people ’ s

speech by : loi m bakani cmg, governor, bank of png at the uncdf 50th anniversary 19 january 2017 ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to address you all at this momentous occasion marking uncdf ’ s 50th anniversary. the bank of papua new guinea has had a close relationship with uncdf through the pacific financial inclusion programme ( pfip ) since its inception in 2008. i would like to share with you some of pfip ’ s highlights over the past 9 years. on a regional level, pfip has been instrumental in supporting the role of the central banks in driving the financial inclusion agenda, and actively contributes to the pacific islands regional initiative, a knowledge - sharing platform for the central banks in the pacific region. by the end of september 2016, pfip had reached an impressive cumulative total of over 1. 1 million clients across the pacific, already surpassing the programme ’ s 2019 goal of 1 million clients. these clients are now connected with financial service providers through a variety of financial services including bank accounts, mobile money, micro insurance, microfinance and more. closer to home for us, in papua new guinea alone, pfip partnerships have led to over 400, 000 clients receiving some form of financial service. in papua new guinea, pfip has been supporting the bank of png and the centre for excellence in financial inclusion through support for development and implementation of the country ’ s national financial inclusion strategic plans, the second of which ( spanning from 2016 - 2020 ), you may be aware, was launched recently in december 2016. this new plan has the ambitious target of reaching 2 million more unbanked lowincome papua new guineans, 50 % of whom are women, by 2020. bima is one example showing the tremendous need and potential for financial service in papua new guinea. a recent entrant into the insurance market, bima provides convenient, affordable life and hospitalization insurance cover via a mobile platform to nearly 400, 000 often low - income, financially underserved papua new guineans, the majority are receiving the economic safety net of insurance cover for the first time. pfip ’ s investment grant helped bima expand outreach in the highlands region, reducing delivery costs and improving customer service through and expanded agent network. pfip is currently working with the with department of education, provincial government and bank of png to develop a pilot for financial education integration into technical and vocational