lean against economic downswings and smoothen economic volatility. third, reserve management in an evolving economic and financial environment will require investment in specific skillsets, a strong governance framework, welldefined risk appetite, up - to - date it systems, and ongoing scrutiny of new investment opportunities. continuous capacity building is key to dispense the requisite knowledge and skills to our central banking staff. central banks managed to steer their way out of those stormy waters and are still doing so. they had no choice than to innovate by adjusting their investment guidelines and principles, expanding their eligible currencies and asset classes. it is as important to acknowledge that there should be clear understanding of what central banks can and cannot do, as well as an appreciation of the possible conflicts between the different objectives. we, on the african continent, need to adapt ourselves to new trends and seize opportunities to resolutely face the future. it is imperative for our reserve managers to be more dynamic to respond quickly to new market conditions. i strongly believe that there is a lot we can collaborate on to make the continent more attractive to foreign capital and international trade in order to grow our foreign assets. this will assist countries safeguard macroeconomic stability and foster sustained economic growth. ladies and gentlemen, i thank you for your attention. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

shift by central banks globally towards integrating esg considerations into their investment framework. this transformation has been taking place at a faster - than - expected pace in recent years and is bound to gather further momentum. we have also heard several experts in this gathering talking about the 2 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches efforts made in various fora to incentivise and facilitate access to esg products that meet central banks'investment criteria. many central banks already have an official esg framework in place, namely the monetary authority of singapore, sveriges riksbank and danmarks nationalbank. other central banks use esg labels or use of proceeds as a means of embedding esg in their reserve portfolios. in the years to come, technology, policy and societal preferences will continue to drive the proliferation of esg products. esg datasets and business intelligence platforms are continuously being developed, providing support to investors in their search for investment opportunities. the de - dollarization paradigm shift is taking place, albeit at a gradual pace. this trend is widely believed to continue into the next decade, amid ongoing geopolitical fragmentation. in the past fifteen years or so, the share of the us dollar has been trending down with less traditional currencies making inroads into reserve assets. going forward, other currencies like the renminbi, indian rupee, australian dollar, new zealand dollar and swedish krona are expected to gain at the expense of the greenback. hence, reserve managers would need to build competencies to tap into these currencies and markets. we also expect to see more geographical diversification in reserve portfolios. aside from latin america, india or china, we believe there are great opportunities to unlock within africa itself. for instance, at the bank of mauritius, we have developed and are fostering relationships with leading pan african financial institutions. as we look to further diversify our portfolios, we believe that more reserve assets could be invested on the continent for its long - term sustainable growth. some central banks firmly believe that digital currencies could become an eligible asset class for reserve portfolios at some point in the future. others are avoiding such assets for various reasons. virtual assets and cryptocurrencies are still far from the reserve management world today, given their intrinsic volatility. these factors are expected to keep them away from reserve portfolios in the decade. with all these new investment and diversification strategies, central banks