away, to keep me company here and be my allies in the process of transition which is obviously not as easy as we thought it would be back in the year 2000. in late march this year the nbs organized a gathering in london of about one hundred serbs who are employed in the most prominent financial institutions of the uk capital. i must admit that it was only then that i fully realized where the really very best have gone. but, the times are a - changing, serbia is taking big strides towards the european union, standard of living is improving and there are ample professional challenges around. we have managed to persuade some of those young professionals to come back to serbia and work in the national bank. let me emphasize again that the doors of our bank, and the doors of my office are kept wide open to all who wish to work for serbia and not only make profit in serbia!!!

of risks. they have also realized the need for international cooperation to develop standards that could form the basis of a strong structure for islamic banking. the increasing global interest in islamic banking, in recent years, is attributable to the rapid growth of this type of activity in terms of size, scope and significance both in islamic countries and other parts of the world. islamic banking has spread widely in more than twenty - five countries in asia and africa. it has also emerged in many financial centers in europe and north america to the extent that major international banks and specialized financial institutions have started to offer shari ’ a - compliant products to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of customers in their markets and those of islamic countries. dear brothers, you all know the efforts made by basel committee to issue various standards governing conventional banking in the area of capital adequacy, corporate governance, and the principles of compliance, and others. these and other standards have helped create an appropriate environment for banking business which supports competition. on the other hand, a number of central banks in a number of islamic countries, including sama, have established the islamic financial services board ( ifsb ) to promote establishment and development of shari ’ a compliant financial services industry, characterized by prudence and transparency, through the adoption of existing or new international standards compatible with islamic banking principles and methods. since its establishment in november 2002, the board has made great efforts in issuing international standards governing islamic banking business through a number of committees and work teams in the membership of which sama participates effectively. such standards will help setting up a strong structure to create robust banking entities able to compete in the international markets. the board also makes great efforts in organizing conferences and workshops to promote awareness of the nature of islamic banking. i can not, on this occasion, but thank the board's members. dear audience saudi arabian monetary agency exerts persevering efforts to promote awareness and emphasize the importance of applying international standards that help manage risks, enhance competition and create strong entities. therefore, this symposium is the first of its kind on islamic financial services board's standards which complement the guidelines of basel ii. the symposium aims specifically at providing a clear understanding of islamic financial services board's standards with regard to capital adequacy, risks management, supervisory review process, corporate governance systems, transparency and market discipline, which constitute fundamental bases to ensure soundness and stability of islamic banking services. therefore, it is expected that this symposium will