design of a world bank project aimed at fostering small scale trade and innovative cross - border payment services in southern africa ; and 3. to look at the opportunities for providing cross - border money transmission services that benefit both small - scale trade and remittance transfers. it is anticipated that this roundtable symposium shall come up with a refined design of the world bank project to be launched later in 2011 focusing on five countries in southern africa, namely : angola, malawi, mozambique, south africa, and zambia. a draft copy of the project design has been circulated to you all. the project will aim at enhancing trade through lower transaction costs for trade payments and improved access to financial services for smallscale traders. the goal is to increase small value trade payments through formal channels and transition payments away from cash by improving competition and innovation in the market for trade related payment services. it is also expected that the forum will result in attaining better alignment of project scope with stakeholder needs, and in particular buy - in from both private and public sector stakeholders in each country covered. ladies and gentlemen, this roundtable forum brings together some decision and policy makers, from both the private and public sectors of the countries covered by the project, to a single regional event representing government and central bank officials, trade and payment system experts, international development community, mobile network operators, international money operators, payment service providers, academics and researchers involved in the topics of small - scale cross - border trade and payment services. i am very positive that the symposium shall achieve the stated objectives and wish to encourage you to actively and freely participate in the deliberations. with these few words, ladies and gentlemen, i declare this roundtable symposium open. thank you! bis central bankers ’ speeches

is a challenge to accommodate employees and our clients in elevators, meeting rooms, corridors and lunch 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches rooms, etc.. the adjustment was not seamless in all cases but the conversation has shifted from whether something like this is possible. we now know it is, and the question is, how can we improve on it to ensure that our businesses are able to deliver their services efficiently and competitively? how do we help those workers whose jobs may not come back and who may find it difficult to reskill and retool in the short run? how we reform social protection and labour regulations, as people work differently, will be challenging. however, we will have to address these matters to conform with the greater flexibility that the work environment requires. moreover, how can we advance the transition without excluding the elderly or the indigent from services that they might ordinarily access? certainly, it is clear that adapting to the use of technology is the way of the future. access to and use of the internet will be crucial to our long - term development. individuals working from home need speedy, reliable, affordable internet services that will enable transactions to be completed on a timely basis. the public sector will need to make more of its services available on - line in the interest of transparency, efficiency and productivity. our children and teachers will also require reliable internet services and we need to close the digital divide as it relates to access to equipment. as we adjust, we must change our mindsets. the absence of a growth and curious mindset could be a significant obstacle, perhaps the biggest. but here too, we can draw on our experience with covid. remember when we would shake hands or hug? when we use to walk around without masks? when 10 of us would be seated at the same table for this luncheon today? staying in our homes and potentially away from our loved ones, as we did during the lockdown, is more demanding than shifting to transacting business online. yet we were able to adapt. this adaptation is proof that we are capable of doing it in other areas. we simply must put our minds, hands and hearts to it! the actions i described were necessary to safeguard our health but the new approach of which i speak is essential to preserve our economy now and for our children and grandchildren, our health and our society. to rebuild a flourishing barbados economy, we must improve our competitiveness. barbados ranks 128 of 190 countries in the ease