As the economic recovery took hold, the deflationary risks diminished, notwithstanding the appreciation of the Swiss franc. Over the past few years, my Governing Board colleagues and I have repeatedly emphasised that the SNB does not pursue an exchange rate target, but consistently bases its monetary policy on its legal mandate. This mandate stipulates that the Swiss National Bank is required to ensure price stability, while taking due account of economic developments. The dreaded scenario of a deflationary dynamic could thus be avoided so far. Nonetheless, the appreciation of the Swiss franc that ensued obviously impaired the price competitiveness of Swiss exporters. However, the exchange rate is only one factor to affect exports. This raises the question as to which other factors were potentially beneficial for the development of Swiss goods exports in the most recent crisis. 3 To answer this question, I would now like to take a closer look at the structure and developments of Swiss goods exports in the last 20 years. I will concentrate on three factors in particular, namely the geographical, the sectoral and the qualitative dimensions of the Swiss export industry. 2. Swiss exports: developments and an international comparison  2.1  The geographical dimension  Geographically speaking, Switzerland’s export structure has become increasingly diversified over the last two decades.
The total financial packages provided around the world to various economic sectors (health and non-health) amounted to around USD 10.8 trillion, equivalent to 10.2% of the global GDP, while the amounts allocated to support liquidity injected into the economies reached USD 6.1 trillion, or 6.2% of the global GDP. Like the other countries in the world, the Kuwaiti economy encountered many challenges, as economic activities have been shut down for several months, and global shipping of merchandise goods has been severely disrupted. Proceeding from the importance of discussions and sharing of experiences to pave the way towards making the right decisions and bringing about thorough strategies that strengthen the monetary and financial stability, I would like to briefly present the efforts made by the Central Bank of Kuwait to achieve this goal during the previous period, and the measures it have taken to alleviate those challenges and develop a mechanism for follow-up thereon and a plan for safe exit.   Speech delivered by His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, Basel A. Al-Haroon, in the 46th Ordinary Session of the Council of the Governors of the Arab Central Banks and Monetary Authorities, held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on September 18, 2022. Page 1 of 4  In line with its proactive approach adopted since March 2020, the Central Bank of Kuwait has taken several measures and actions through its various monetary, supervisory and hedging instruments.