Following upon the political and social reforms in the country and the withdrawal of punitive international economic actions, the Reserve Bank and the Department of Finance started with a gradual phasing out of the exchange controls.
The preponderance of these two regions and their similar size naturally calls for parallels to be made. Viewed from outside, these two regions are large economic blocs that have led  BIS Review 146/2007  1  globalisation and the surge in world trade, financial flows and innovative ideas that has been getting stronger during the last few decades.