##ness also have to relate to countries that botswana trades with, in terms of goods and services, but also the flow of investments. it has been determined that these are mostly south africa and the sdr countries ( the usa, uk, euro area, china and japan ). this explains the fixing of the pula to currencies of these countries. the 45 percent south african rand and 55 percent sdr proportions are based on observed historical trade pattern and are also subject to annual review. in addition, the fixing to a basket rather than a single currency helps to moderate volatility of the pula against any single currency. this explains why during the times when the south african rand and other currencies are volatile, the pula remains relatively stable. 2023 pula exchange rate parameters in the context of botswana ’ s crawling band exchange rate arrangement for the pula, the ministry of finance in conjunction with the bank of botswana, reviews the parameters for the pula exchange rate twice in a year ; being the currencies in the pula basket and their weights, as well as the rate of crawl. this is done to assess alignment of the pula exchange rate with the policy objective of maintaining a stable and competitive real effective exchange rate of the pula ; that is, retaining competitiveness of botswana producers against imports and exports in international markets. for 2023, it was determined that inflation in botswana would be on average 1. 51 percentage points higher than in the trading partner countries and, therefore, a 1. 51 percent annual downward crawl would be implemented through small daily adjustments that would equal 1. 51 percent over twelve months. it was also determined that the trade patterns remain largely unchanged and, therefore, maintained at 55 percent sdr and 45 percent south african rand. the benefits of the crawling band framework for botswana the benefits of the current crawling band framework are therefore as follows : ( a ) ( b ) ( c ) ( d ) ( e ) it affords flexibility for adjustments to address deterioration in international price competitiveness of the domestic industry ; any adjustment is gradual and, therefore, not disruptive nor destablising ; the rate of adjustment is preannounced and retained for a year and, therefore, enables planning for economic decisions ; the framework is broadly in alignment with the price stability objective ( inflation objective inherent in the monetary policy framework ; and the basket composition moderates fluctuations of the pula exchange rate against any individual currency. in contrast, alternative arrangements could have

and without applying an income test for welfare entitlement. the new policy of reducing poverty will have to target the poorest and least empowered population, and let them have a dominant role in shaping their future. to evaluate the progress we are making in poverty reduction we add to the traditional relative definition of the poverty line a need - based ( absolute ) definition of poverty. once we have a meaningful and measurable target, we will be able to make our policy more effective : to introduce quantitative indicators for follow - up, define legislative measures and budgetary instruments, determine accountability for policy implementation and to make sure that full transparency of the policy making and implementation is in place. mr. chairman, the dc communique published yesterday stated : today we renewed our commitment to achieve the millennium development goals and to continue our work on implementing the strategies, partnerships and actions agreed in doha, monterrey and johannesburg. israel has been, and will continue to be, a firm supporter of this worldwide effort to reduce poverty. finally, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to extend special thanks to the government and people of the united arab emirates for their warm hospitality to all the participants of our annual meeting and for their generous assistance to the efficient organization of the meeting. thank you mr. chairman.