and practices, the mifc will adopt a policy of mutual recognition and accommodate the various juristic reasoning based on contemporary analysis and logical inference so long as it is approved by recognised shariah advisers. harmonisation and knowledge sharing in shariah is expected to be further enhanced with the on - going shariah dialogues for the regional and international shariah communities that are held annually in malaysia. the gathering of so many practitioners here for these two days to discuss the wide ranging matters that concern issuers and investors will contribute to developing our collective understanding of these issues and expand the boundaries of our knowledge. in closing, i wish to say that the motivation for advancing our mission to position malaysia to become increasingly more integrated with the international financial system is to contribute towards facilitating greater cross border flows in terms of increased intra - regional trade and investment transactions. with the strengthening of intra - regional trade and investment flows, the greater regional economic and financial inter - linkages would contribute towards raising the prospects for more balanced global growth and greater shared prosperity. on this note, i wish you a successful forum. thank you.

respective institutions, therefore, represents an undertaking to collectively safeguard the continuing soundness and integrity of the financial system. moreover, going forward, it also facilitates the development of mechanisms and channels for sharing of data and consultation. the thought process for establishment of a financial stability council also involves consideration of a robust legislative backing for the work of the council and this will accordingly be facilitated in the revised bank of botswana act ; consultations between the bank and mfed on the review are at an advanced stage. colleagues, before concluding let me highlight the more urgent work programme for the council in the short to medium term. first, is publication of the financial stability report, as an anchor publication, providing accountability in the areas of assessment of financial stability risks and mitigation measures. second is agreement on a macroprudential policy framework that is relevant for botswana, in terms of risk mitigation, as well as recognising the gaps in financial inclusion and development. third, there is a specific need to address the challenges arising from implementation of the anti - money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism protocols and requirements. fourth and related, thereto, is the requirement to decisively address the incipient misconduct and governance challenges in the financial sector, deriving from greed and / or misunderstanding or incompetence with respect to fiduciary responsibilities, as well as opportunistic crime and fraud. fifth, consultation during 2019 will also involve consideration of a deposit protection scheme for the country, to guarantee access to deposits up to a specified threshold, in the event of bank failure. lastly, cooperation and collaboration among the council members would be critical in the timely update and renewal of legislation and policies to retain and improve effectiveness of supervision, monitoring and guidance for the financial sector. i thank you for your attention and i now call upon council members to comment, before we proceed to sign the mou.