performs a critical role in crisis containment and management, in particular, to provide liquidity, to prevent disruptions to the functioning of the financial system and to restore stability and confidence to the financial system. to avoid a piecemeal approach by any individual agency in the system and to ensure a comprehensive response to the financial crisis, the institutional arrangements for greater coordination across agencies is essential to allow for prompt action that may include a range of measures such as capital injections, debt guarantees and asset purchases in the effort to contain and manage the crisis. regional roles at the regional level, the role of the central banks in east asia has in this decade, transitioned to a new level of collaboration and cooperation. following the asian financial crisis, efforts have focused on five main areas, namely, to enhance the effectiveness of regional economic and financial surveillance, to improve the arrangements for regional crisis management that is reinforced by regional support mechanisms, to develop the regional financial infrastructure including the bond market and the payments and settlement system, to strengthen regional financial stability, and finally, to pursue capacity building collaboratively, so as to enhance the effectiveness of the central banks in the region. the priority for asia going forward is to accelerate regional financial integration. to ensure this takes place in an environment of regional stability, strengthening cooperation is also aimed at managing the risks and vulnerabilities of the region. in 2006, the east asian central banks have established a monetary and financial stability committee as a forum to discuss the risks to regional macroeconomic and financial stability. in addition, the asean + 3, a subset of this group, has already taken concrete steps to multilateralise the chiang mai initiative into a more advanced and robust framework for the effective pooling and utilisation of liquidity support in the region. while the asian region is highly diverse, in these key areas of cooperation and collaboration, the asian region has demonstrated its cohesiveness in coming together to deal with the challenges that the new environment presents to us. conclusion let me now conclude. the world has changed and will continue to change. to remain effective in the new environment and to have the capacity to respond to the new challenges, central banks also need to undertake its own transformation and modernisation. moreover, in preserving the independence of the central bank and to be able to stand our ground in performing our responsibilities, central banks need to be standing on solid ground. this requires continuous capability enhancement and capacity building so as to be well positioned to have the ability to rise to the challenges

delisle worrell : the growing relationship between china and barbados welcome remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the press launch of the fish and dragon festival, bridgetown, 29 january 2015. * * * ambassador wang ke of the embassy of the people ’ s republic of china in barbados other representatives of the embassy of the people ’ s republic of china in barbados, mr. david bulbulia, deputy permanent secretary, ministry of foreign affairs, mr. kirk ottley, president of the bcfa and other representatives, festival director, ms. tonika sealy, ladies and gentleman, members of the media and press good morning. they say that the world ’ s centre of gravity has shifted to the east, suddenly and dramatically. even someone like myself, with more than a passing knowledge of chinese history, culture and policy, has been astounded by the transformation. the images i see on tv daily are of an utterly different country to the one i visited in 1980. the very fact that cctv america is available in barbados, and that its global coverage is among the most dispassionate, informative and sympathetic to my sensibilities, of any international broadcaster, is something that was inconceivable back then. most barbadians are only dimly aware of the magnitude of the change that the emergence of china implies, and the myriad ways our lives might be touched by that change. we do know of chinese interest in direct investment in the caribbean ; it is substantial, and it is to be welcomed, because it benefits both sides. barbados and the caribbean benefit from the increase of our capacity to produce goods and services, and the associated employment. china, for its part, is in search of opportunities to diversify foreign investment portfolios. i have only recently been sensitized to the extent of online commerce with china, and the inbuilt features that facilitate this commerce. the chinese embassy, the annu institute, the barbados - china friendship association and other groups and individuals have provided us with glimpses into china ’ s rich, ancient, and modernizing culture. we see more of it on cctv. the confucius institute is about to get going. we see reports of missions to china, and articles on the experiences of barbadians living there. what all this makes us realise is that a whole new world has emerged, with china as its hub, and we are feeling the swell