on a stock basis, which represents the cumulative net purchase amount of government bonds, or the ratio of the amount outstanding of the central bank's holdings of government bonds to the overall amount issued. the bank assesses that the main reason it has been able to maintain the 10 - year jgb yields at around 0 percent since the introduction of yield curve control is stock effects - - or the cumulative effects of jgb purchases that have continued since before its introduction - - which have been working well. with stock effects working firmly, if the supply - demand conditions in the jgb market tighten in the future, the impact of a unit amount of the bank's jgb purchases on long - term yields accordingly should become more significant, with all else being equal. put differently, the bank can have the same degree of effect in lowering interest rates with a smaller amount of jgb purchases. therefore, i would like to reemphasize that yield curve control is designed to be highly sustainable. accommodative financial conditions lastly, i will discuss the actual effects of the bank's monetary easing measures on japan's economy. through the introduction of qqe, the bank has succeeded in lowering japan's real interest rates well below the potential growth rate by conducting large - scale jgb purchases and raising inflation expectations ( chart 10 ). this was the first such achievement to be made in the fight against prolonged deflation since the end of the 1990s. as a consequence, the economic activities of firms and households have been activated, leading to a steady improvement in the output gap. according to the government, the current recovery phase, which started in december 2012, is highly likely to have lasted for 58 consecutive months by september this year. the duration of the current recovery has thus surpassed that of the izanagi boom in the second half of the 1960s. in light of this situation, coupled with the fact that the period of the current recovery mostly overlaps the period of qqe, it appears that this policy has contributed to the long - lasting recovery, which is the second longest in the post - war era. on the price front, too, annual cpi inflation excluding fresh food and energy has been positive as a trend for about four years. under qqe, japan is no longer in deflation, which is generally defined as a sustained decline in prices. it seems that the monetary easing has exerted positive effects on individual firms in the form of improvement in funding conditions.

home countries. chairperson, an additional adverse effect of the global financial crisis on our economies has been on direct foreign investment s as many projects have either been suspended or cancelled. this has been due to a failure by many investors to raise funds as a result of unfavourable conditions in international financial markets. other investors are pulling out their interests from africa in a bid to save money and improve their liquidity for working capital purposes back home where liquidity has been a serious issue. in zambia, the effects of the global financial crisis have been generally felt in our mining industry, securities market, and the external sector of the economy. the drop in copper prices has led some mines closing while other have been placed on care and maintenance with massive job losses while the mining subsectors and mining related industries have also seen loss of jobs. the tourism industry is adversely affected with low occupancy rates while the horticulture industry has also recorded losses due to low export volumes as result of low demand and low commodity prices of vegetables and fresh flowers in european markets. the exchange rate has also come under severe pressure as foreign exchange inflows declined reflecting the deterioration in the balance of payments position. this is partly a consequence of reduced earnings from copper exports arising from the fall in copper prices. further, the weakness of the local currency is a consequence of increased risk aversion to emerging and developing economy financial assets. chairperson, the challenges arising from the global financial and economic crisis are huge but surmountable. major economies of the world are putting in place various stimulus packages, which are expected to take the world economy out of the crisis. without doubt, these measures will benefit emerging and developing economies as well, provided that were main committed to pursuing strong socio - economic policies. i urge all of us here present to be part of the solution and contribute to the economic recovery and prosperity of this continent. it is also important that we incorporate policy issues arising from this seminar in our domestic policy processes and thereby enrich such processes by taking into consideration regional perspectives. the challenge going forward is how to maintain and sustain the economic gains and macroeconomic stability in our countries. there is need to encourage diversification and enhance competitiveness by increasing expenditure on infrastructure and social services. we need to continue to encourage investment in our economies that will lead to a diversified export base and a greater local value addition. for monetary authorities, there is need to continue to closely monitor global developments and always stand ready to take appropriate measures in