in addressing the deficiencies identified in the mer. technical compliance with the fatf recommendations, however, is not sufficient. mauritius must also demonstrate that its aml / cft systems and measures are effective. the fight against financial crime and aml / cft is one that requires the involvement of all stakeholders. as a means of fostering closer collaboration amongst local authorities, two new mous were signed on 19 september 2018 among the financial services commission ( fsc ), bank of mauritius and financial intelligence unit ( fiu ) on the one hand, and the fsc, fiu and independent commission against commission, on the other hand. these two tripartite mous add to the gamut of existing bilateral and multilateral mous. in terms of coordinated actions with foreign authorities, we have, as of date, signed memoranda of understanding with some 17 supervisory authorities for sharing of information and collaborative actions. the bank of mauritius has also enhanced its internal supervisory framework on aml / cft by setting up a dedicated aml / cft team. we have upgraded the aml / cft off - site monitoring supervisory toolkit through a revision of reporting requirements by banks. further, with technical assistance from the world bank, we are implementing a risk - based supervisory framework which includes a separate module for ml / ft risk. significant progress has been achieved and we expect to conduct a series of pilot run exercises shortly to test the frameworks. banks, on their part, are expected to migrate to risk - based internal audit framework to complement the risk - based supervisory framework. concurrently, the bank of mauritius is working towards implementing a central kyc registry to facilitate the kyc procedure of banks. ladies and gentlemen, you will appreciate that no matter how elaborate, effective and comprehensive our regulatory and supervisory framework is, there will always be some element of residual risk that has to be managed by banks. let me also underscore that the fight for a clean and attractive international financial centre like ours is the concern of one and all, and is an ongoing process. your input is and will remain valuable as we continue to modernize our regulatory framework. we shall continue to work towards a financial system that is as safe as possible. you will remain a privileged partner in that process as we cannot achieve anything of substance without your cooperation. we look forward to continued collaboration with all of you as usual. with this final thought, i hope that by the end of today ’ s academy, we will have

of shocks – both internal and external. our economies rely too much on mineral resources and agriculture. they also face significant infrastructural gaps and have fragmented markets. regional integration is also relatively low. africa is far more dependent on overseas trade than any other economic region or global player. the fact is that africa is integrated asymmetrically in global trade. originating mainly from 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches resource - rich countries, african exports are concentrated in raw materials and agricultural products. these range from crude oil, gold and diamond to cocoa and timber, fruits and nuts, copper, natural gas, cotton, iron ore, uranium, just to name a few of these. imports are mainly dominated by capital goods. openness to trade brings many benefits to the supply side of the economy. that is why we cannot but welcome the african continental free trade area agreement which, once completed, will establish a market of 1. 2 billion people with a combined gdp of 2. 5 trillion dollars. the agreement could significantly boost intra - african trade whilst promoting foreign direct investment and technology transfers. this can potentially raise the competitiveness of african economies and enhance their integration into the global economy. before the global financial crisis, trade growth has been a major engine of global growth and an enhancer of living standards worldwide. the integration of economies into global trade, notably through participation in global value chains, has improved incomes. it has also moved millions of people out of poverty. since the crisis, trade has generally lagged behind output growth. some economies have borne the brunt of open trade. a number of them have been running a persistent trade deficit and have been facing intense competition. we have also witnessed scenarios of protectionism resulting in an increase in non - tariff barriers. the anti - globalisation sentiment which emerged since the crisis has been gradually cemented through what has been termed a “ trade war ", leading to a broader reversal of globalisation. some economies have even announced retaliatory measures. recourse to trade protectionism has been posited to foster recovery from economic downturns. this, by creating barriers aiming at protecting the economy from the negative impacts of open trade and improving their trade balances. ladies and gentlemen, protectionist measures impact on the free movement of goods and services and they obviously affect economic performances across the world. higher tariffs have an effect on growth and inflation whilst influencing financial conditions, expectations and confidence in the near to medium term. for us central