More generally, the views of businesses around the country about the state of trade are passed directly to the MPC through the intermediary of the Regional Agents who attend the monthly preMPC briefing meetings. This may not be quite “One 2 One” but it is a rapid and direct communication. The Bank of England has never had an Agency office in Northern Ireland. It is time to put that right. I am very pleased, therefore, to announce that in January next year the Bank of England will open an Agency in Belfast. It will increase our contacts with, and knowledge of, the economy and people of Northern Ireland. Nigel Falls, one of our most experienced Agents, will be the first Agent for Northern Ireland. He is here tonight, and you will be seeing a great deal of him in future. The second challenge for the future is to build a constituency for low inflation. There is I believe, a good deal of support in this country for monetary stability. Those who experienced the high and unpredictable rates of inflation of the 1970s and 1980s – the “inflation generation” – have ensured that all major political parties are now committed to stability. But there have been times in the past when low and stable inflation was abandoned by those who succumbed to the temptations of monetary laxity. Some of you here tonight are, I hope, taking a break from revision for your final examinations. Thirty years ago this month I was in your position.
The regional economies recognize the importance of developing these markets thus co-ordinated efforts through various initiatives have been undertaken to remove impediments to these developments. With further lowering of trade barriers under the ASEAN Free Trade Area and ASEAN+3 initiatives, intra-regional investment flows would further increase. The intensification of regional co-operation has been enhanced in recent years. In the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, there has been an increase in the level of financial co-operation among the Asian countries. These efforts have revolved around swap facilities to provide emergency liquidity assistance, regional surveillance and peer review to enhance regional financial and monetary co-operation, regional capacity building and the enhancement of skills and capabilities of regional financial regulators and policymakers. Regional surveillance and peer review in particular is an important step forward as it will contribute to confidence building and would complement the implementation of the various regional financing schemes. Significant progress has been made in achieving the objectives of the Chiang Mai Initiative to create swap facilities to provide emergency liquidity assistance for the region. Closer co-operative efforts in the standardisation of systems and documentation procedures would also contribute to facilitating intra-regional trade and investment among economies within the region, as well as with the rest of the world. Effective co-operation in these areas will augment the foundations for realising the tremendous potential that this region possesses for future growth and prosperity.