indeed legitimate questions to be asked of the global financial system. at all events, the international community would do well to give careful consideration to how it can improve the way in which the financial markets work. now, in a tempest it is especially important to maintain a clear sense of direction. for every serious analysis, the following two insights should provide the guiding lights : global financial markets bring significant benefits overall. free capital movements are an important and worthwhile achievement. the free movement of capital has been crucial in promoting the global integration of output and trade. it has been instrumental in bringing about a marked increase in international direct investment and has led to a rapid spread of know - how. free capital movements have made the world more prosperous overall. capital is being used more efficiently because the pool for gathering and allocating resources has become larger. and investment decisions are geared more closely to the economic yield of projects. finally, the free movement of capital has helped policymakers in many countries to maintain internal economic discipline. the fact that there is a comparatively high degree of price stability in many parts of the world is undoubtedly also due to open borders and more competition from abroad. no one should forget those benefits, let alone want to sacrifice them. - 2on the other hand, it is nevertheless correct to say that the global markets are not easy players and partners. they pose internal challenges which may sometimes be hard. and the international financial markets are prone to exaggerate at times, on occasion with great severity. nowadays, many market players are very short - termist in their actions, which can considerably heighten risks. there is herd behaviour in both euphoria and in moments of doubt. above all, financial crises give rise to risks of contagion. countries may be infected even though they have very few economic links with the original location of the crisis. naturally, it is understandable that market players regard a crisis in one country as a reason to re - examine opportunities and risks across the board. problems are caused, however, if the markets do not make enough distinctions and fail to take adequate account of conditions which are specific to the individual country. i hope very much that the international financial markets will note and take due consideration of the evident structural progress made by many countries over the past few years, especially in latin america. apart from that, exaggerations in one direction or the other are ultimately dangerous for the players in the financial markets themselves - as has been revealed yet again precisely here during the past few

payments. while these are indeed noteworthy developments, we know that the work is far from finished. beyond account ownership, financial inclusion entails the availability of a range of products that meet the diverse needs of the population, particularly the minorities and the vulnerable sectors. to create a truly inclusive financial system, we need to ensure that the needs of the muslim filipinos who are excluded due to religious reasons are being addressed. a world bank study showed that approximately 9 % of the population exclude themselves from the formal financial system due to religious reasons in muslim majority countries. this is where islamic banking and finance comes in. islamic finance can deepen financial inclusion not only because it delivers shari - ah - compliant products for the muslim communities but also because its very essence is based on the principles of social justice and equality. islamic finance products are specifically created to support the needs and protect the rights of the poor and underserved. islamic finance and financial inclusion, therefore, share a common end - goal. as you may know, in islamic finance, products such as sadaqah, waqf, and qard are called social solidarity instruments because they are designed to uplift the plight of the less privileged through the wealth of those who have more in life. as the name suggests, social solidarity instruments provide wealthy individuals and businesses a channel through which they can financially support the poor in the community. other shari ’ ah compliant products can also support not only individuals but also small business owners such as sale - based contracts ( i. e. murabahah, salam etc. ), lease - based contracts ( i. e. ijarah ) or guarantee contracts ( i. e. kafalah ). providing the appropriate products and services to the small and medium enterprises is key to broad - based growth. islamic finance can also help the country attract funds from islamic investors looking for opportunities to support infrastructure requirements particularly in the bangsamoro. poverty alleviation efforts have necessitated development of critical rural infrastructure that can support 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches the quality of life and the livelihood of the rural folk. simply put, we cannot afford to overlook the role of islamic finance in promoting social equity, not when there are still predominantly muslim provinces — like the bangsamoro that have poverty incidences as high as 68 %. in fact, in the 2018 bangsamoro organic law, the bangsamoro government, the bsp, department of finance and the national commission on muslim filipinos are