This will be increasingly important to the effectiveness of the overall supervisory process, as the SEC moves toward providing a form of consolidated supervision for the largest securities firms. At the international level, we have made considerable progress in developing a network for cooperation and information sharing among national authorities that better matches the increased integration of national financial systems. We have worked to clarify the division of labor among supervisors of institutions with supra-national reach, and to cover gaps in the supervisory overlay. We have also worked to identify and promote the adoption of best practices and standards for many dimensions of the institutional framework that underpins well-functioning financial markets. Strengthening home-host supervisory cooperation and avoiding duplication of supervisory efforts will continue to be top priorities for the international supervisory community, especially as we adopt newer supervisory approaches, such as Basel II. Finally, we need to continue to promote investments in strengthening resilience in critical infrastructure in payments and settlement systems and those institutions that play an important role in market clearance systems. This is a critical part of the supervisory and market oversight process we perform, and there is an active public-private effort underway to bring about further improvements in back-up facilities and overall resilience. The innovations that have transformed finance over the past decade have substantially improved the overall stability and resilience of the U.S. financial system. But these improvements are unlikely to have brought an end to what Charles Kindleberger called “manias and panics” in financial markets.
I am further informed that ATI has so far this year supported Zambian companies and businesses by offering insurance cover to some very large and essential projects primarily in the energy, mining, manufacturing and agriculture sectors valued at over $ million. The Agency has also continued to assist many African countries by facilitating foreign direct investments with its political risk insurance that protects investors. Ladies and Gentlemen, the role that trade plays in the economic growth and development of a Country cannot be emphasised. There are many regions and countries of the world that have been able to lift their peoples from poverty to prosperity through trade. However, although Africa in general and Zambia in particular has an economy which is characterized by a relatively high degree of openness, trade has not been utilized to an extent of achieving rapid and sustainable economic development necessary to eliminate poverty. This failure for trade to serve as a catalyst for sustainable economic development could be attributed in part to the nature of Africa’s export trade which is heavily concentrated on primary commodities that are characterized by relatively slow growth, price instability and long‐term deterioration of terms of trade. The need for African countries and Zambia in particular to participate in the dynamic sectors of global trade such as manufactures and services cannot be over-emphasised.