r basant roi : review of the financial sector in mauritius address by mr r basant roi, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the seminar on financial sector assessment programme, pointe aux piments, 8 september 2003. * * * hon. minister of economic development, financial services and corporate affairs mrs ann rennie, deputy mission chief ladies and gentlemen good morning i am pleased to be here in your midst, this morning, for the opening of this seminar on the financial sector assessment programme. over three years ago, on may 26, 2000 the financial stability forum had issued a press release in which it categorised mauritius in the third and last group of countries regarding their perceived degree of supervision and co - operation. the categorisation was carried out on the basis of a survey, including questionnaires that were, according to the press release, forwarded to supervisors the world over. we were not even aware of this survey. yet, mauritius was categorised in the last group. worse, mauritius was never given a hearing before its categorisation in the last group. in spite of all the statements of good intention made in the press release, some damage had already been inflicted to the image of mauritius as a financial services centre. voices against this approach were raised at various international meetings of governors of central banks. subsequently, the imf was urged and, rightly so, by the financial stability forum to take a lead role in the assessment of jurisdictions ’ adherence to international standards. the imf held a consultative meeting to hear the views of outside experts from onshore and offshore centres and international agencies. this initiative was formally and fully backed by mauritius. the world bank joined in with the imf. the assessment of mauritius by the joint imf / world bank mission has been fair and just. the fsap mission has given the authorities of mauritius a fair hearing. the assessment has been thorough and has been carried out in a manner that should help all of us here to further strengthen the soundness and safety of our financial sector. a careful reading of all the recommendations made in the report does allow us to spotlight certain areas that are really vulnerable to risks. with a financial system like ours that is fully integrated with the world ’ s financial system we cannot afford to take lightly the vulnerabilities highlighted therein. despite certain disagreements that we have had with the fsap mission ’ s views, i must say that the quality of the recommendations is very

mohammed iqbal belath : africa and the indo - pacific – the new economic mainspring welcome address by mr mohammed iqbal belath, second deputy governor of the bank of mauritius, at the second meeting of the official monetary and financial institutions forum ( omfif ) in africa, hosted by the bank of mauritius, port louis, 5 november 2012. * * * governors deputy governors members of the management board of omfif members of the advisory board of omfif distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen a very good morning and warm welcome to you all! i feel privileged to deliver this welcome address on the occasion of the 2nd meeting of omfif in africa, which demonstrates the growing importance of the dark continent on the global map. the continent has come a long way from its ruthless, poverty - stricken and unstable political environment. today, africa is looked upon as the continent full of opportunities, the place where we may say the “ next big things to unfold ”. the hosting of this meeting in mauritius is a premiere for the bank and i will like to salute the vision of governor bheenick to put our bank on the radar of official monetary and financial institutions forum. the 1st meeting in africa, the inaugural one, was held a year ago in pretoria at the south african reserve bank, when the sarb was celebrating its 90th anniversary. the 2nd meeting is being held at the bank of mauritius, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. perfect symmetry? sheer coincidence? i ’ d rather not venture to know the venue for the 3rd meeting in africa!!! leaving aside the perfect symmetry of these anniversaries, i believe that it is the ideal time to be in africa and to deliberate of the topic of the meeting : africa and the indo - pacific : the new economic mainspring. the us secretary of state, hillary clinton, first coined the term “ indo - pacific ” officially in october 2010, in honolulu, in a geopolitical sense, to elucidate developments in the asia pacific region. her husband, former president bill clinton, on one of his innumerable trips to africa, declared and i quote “ we are living in the most interdependent time in history. the evidence is all around us. wealth and talent now cross borders that are more like nets than walls but so do less positive forces. the financial crisis that started in the united states and swept the globe proved just how deeply our social and economic fates are intertwined —