Besides, as technology advancement permeates into all businesses, all lifestyles, and all sectors, if we also could ensure that households and small businesses that make up the majority of our economic agents can practically apply and benefit from the new technology, while being aware of its associated risks, then we could significantly raise their standards of living. Ladies and gentlemen, That brings me to the end of my talk today. To aspire for a better standards of living for all citizens of Asia for the next half century and more, we, all of us, must collectively do our part to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth. In so doing, banks and financial institutions, as the blood vessels of our economy, have important roles to play to prevent the blood from being infected as well as to ensure the well-functioning of our blood circulation for more productive, better immuned, and more inclusive economies in Asia. Thank you very much for your kind attention. 6
Monetary policy in Norway is oriented towards low and stable inflation. This is the most important contribution monetary policy can make to sound economic developments in the long term. Low and stable inflation provides enterprises and households with an anchor for inflation expectations. In its conduct of monetary policy, Norges Bank operates a flexible inflation targeting regime, so that weight is given both to variability in inflation and variability in output and employment. Flexible inflation targeting builds a bridge between the long-term objective of monetary policy, which is to keep inflation on target and provide an anchor for inflation expectations, and the short-term objective of stabilising economic developments. Transparency surrounding Norges Bank’s assessments of monetary policy trade-offs enhances economic agents’ understanding of how economic news influences the interest rate. In recent years, it has become easier to read the Bank’s intentions. As a result, monetary policy has become more effective. The background material for the Executive Board’s monetary policy meetings is published and the assessments underlying the interest rate decisions are explained. As from last autumn, the Bank publishes its own interest rate forecast. From using technical assumptions and others’ assessments, we have taken ownership of the interest rate path in our projections. Even though  BIS Review 44/2006  1  considerable uncertainty still remains, it becomes easier for economic agents to assess interest rate developments. Weak growth in the world economy early this decade led to low interest rates in many countries.