focal point of interests of all – whether they are investors or importers, debtors or creditors. they are an important precondition for the happiness of any man. allow me to conclude by quoting our nobel prize winner ivo andri, who said that : " all people look for happiness, with more or less strength and persistence, and the best chance of finding and keeping it lies with those who are looking for it in the shared happiness of as many people as possible, with whom life has brought them together. " you know me, it wouldn't be me if i didn't add a personal touch... every excessive joy of expectation consumes our happiness and all that we wait for, waiting too long turns the hair grey, waiting too long fades the desire's gleam. and when the long - awaited thing finally arrives, we ask ourselves if that's truly what we craved for, did we yearn for it as much as we thought? and why don't we rejoice as much and as strongly, when we believed it'd bring the happiness that we sought. sometimes we need time to ready our hearts for joy's embrace, and endure beautiful surprises. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches yet sometimes, when we wait too long, our hearts echo with emptiness and lament, resonating with restlessness, posing the question whether we have become indifferent or whether what we have is greater and more beautiful than what we wished for. and we start yearning for something else. why do desires swarm like stars in the night? why do desires resemble stars that fade from sight? does reality exist today if everyone claims that their truth is the only reality? while not necessarily believing in it, one desires to convince others of it. we argue not only about concepts and their meanings ( umberto eco wrote about it as a near future that we are living in today ), we argue about tangible things, measurable results, everything is challenged, from the creation of the world, through ageing, to death itself and the desire to eliminate it. has reality, as the right to one's own view, abolished itself and everything has become a lie? falsehood threatens to become the only reality because increasingly fewer people, who sincerely believe in the truth, are fighting for it - 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

jorgovanka tabakovi : transitions big and small introductory address by dr jorgovanka tabakovi, governor of the national bank of serbia, at the at the presentation of the european bank for reconstruction and development's transition report, belgrade, 31 january 2024. * * * ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the national bank of serbia! as usual, i will start my address at today's transition report presentation by saying that the national bank of serbia is not the organiser of this event. the european bank for reconstruction and development has organised it for decades, while we are merely the host. i would like to greet the representatives of the european bank for reconstruction and development mr colangeli and mr plekhanov. i congratulate you on the three - decadelong tradition of the report. such long history best confirms that the report has stood the test of time and retained its top quality. esteemed colleagues, the topic of the transition report 2023 – 24 " transitions big and small " is of vital importance. it also raises the question as to what is considered transition in the modern world. i believe that today, when we talk about economic transition, we mainly have in mind a structural shift of economies towards green technologies and digitalisation. a part of the transition process is also the redefining of supply chains, disrupted during the current multidimensional crisis, as well as changes in the labour market aimed at the acquisition of " green skills ", with all this unfolding in an environment of heightened geopolitical tensions and fragmentation. the question inevitably raised is – how can an ordinary person find his way in all that? how to live with dignity on the money earned at work, how should one be satisfied with his work and afford a decent and free life? those are the questions that the authors of the report sought to give answers to, focusing mainly on the ebrd region, which, judging by the analysis results to be presented today, has recorded significant progress on this front in the past ten years. we – the economic policy makers – must create and maintain conditions conducive to sustainable and inclusive growth even in such uncertain global circumstances, that is, particularly in the current global environment fraught with climate risks and challenges of the modern times epitomised in digitalisation and robotisation. the question, of course, is how. if it were easy, everyone would do it. the answer is always the same – by preserving