so as to deal with potential market failures and neglected collective needs. the panel session on “ enhancing cross - border payments : public / private interaction ” will cover these and other related issues. we are all very well aware that several challenges have to be successfully addressed in order to deliver the ambitious goals of the g20 roadmap. i am sure that this webinar will cast light on a number of them, but it will only be a single step on a “ long and winding road ”. other initiatives will need to be carried out before truly positive results are to be obtained. in this vein, the bank of italy will soon host another webinar, co - organized with the monetary authority of singapore, which will focus on the challenges and anticipated benefits of interlinking existing payment systems that already allow the processing of fast payments. this webinar will take place on 22 november. it goes without saying that all of you will be invited. to conclude, let me thank the organizing committee for putting together such a rich and interesting program, and let me welcome panelists, presenters, discussants and all other participants. i am confident that, even though we cannot meet in person in these continually difficult times, the discussions of these two days will be intense and thought - provoking and will deliver new and useful insights. i am now pleased to leave the virtual floor to the managing director of the imf, ms kristalina georgieva, to whom i wish to express special thanks for being with us today and sharing her thoughts and insights on this most crucial issue. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

innovation, in particular by the supply of fast payments services. against this background, in 2020 the g20 saudi presidency launched an ambitious and challenging plan to enhance cross - border payments at the global level and mandated the fsb to develop a roadmap, which was, as i mentioned, eventually published last october. given the complexity of the challenge, the roadmap is necessarily a multiannual project and will require progress to be made on many separate, yet often interdependent, fronts. the work plan has been structured around 19 pillars or “ building blocks ”, aimed at paving the way for a favourable global payments ecosystem, taking into consideration a very broad range of legal, regulatory and operational issues. this year, under the g20 italian presidency, substantial progress has been achieved by the groups responsible for these building blocks, despite the difficulties caused by the covid - 19 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches pandemic. possibly the most substantial progress has been that of setting out specific quantitative targets for the cost, speed, transparency and accessibility of global cross - border payments. these targets aim to build a shared commitment to a common vision and to obtain specific outcomes which will form the basis of actions that will need to be carried out in the future. they were the focus of a public consultation that ended in july. work is now well under way in taking on board the feedback from this public consultation and in drafting the final recommendations that will be published next month. tomorrow ’ s roundtable will take stock of the progress in implementing the roadmap and discuss the main challenges ahead. the g20 roadmap encompasses a wide set of initiatives, which cover legal, regulatory and operational issues. with respect to the latter, two main focus areas have been identified : the first is devoted to improving existing payment infrastructures and arrangements by strengthening the existing links ( or building new ones ) between the various payment systems and reducing settlement risks. the second covers emerging payments infrastructures and explores the potential of new multilateral platforms, global stablecoin arrangements and central bank digital currencies. the first solution would consist in interlinking existing payment systems. it would represent a fast, almost readily - available way to improve the efficiency of cross - border payments. its viability is already demonstrated by a number of thriving initiatives. a recent experiment carried out by the arab regional payments clearing and settlement organization and the bank of italy consists of interoperating tips, the eurosystem platform for instant payments