Therefore it seems reasonable to  3  BIS Review 43/2000  argue that transition economies should pay special attention to formal education, and other forms of training and research. As the empirical evidence suggests (Flanagan, 1998), return to schooling began to rise rapidly during the transition. Relatively soon, they approximated those in many market economies. Under central planning, the main distortions in human capital formation were the overvaluation of vocational training and the undervaluing of university education. However, the transition process has quickly started to correct this shortcoming of socialism. Formal schooling need not be the main factor in developing human capital. Let me just mention that according to Lucas (1993), the most central feature of human capital accumulation for growth is learning on the job (learning by doing). For this to happen, we need both managers and workers to be constantly exposed to new challenges, to move up on the “quality ladder”. In the globalized world of today it seems that one of the best ways to be exposed to new challenges is by exporting. An old Latin saying could be paraphrased into: “Exportare necesse est, vivere non necesse est”.2 By opening up the economy, we are promoting human capital, which in turn is essential to growth. A similar approach can be used to argue for more foreign direct investments (FDI) in transition economies. FDIs bring not only physical capital, but: new organization, know-how, etc which then increase “domestic” human capital.
I would like to present a briefing on accomplishments achieved during the last year, the most important of which were: The Kingdom achieved tangible progress in its AML procedures, in the framework of the follow-up process that followed the Mutual Assessment Process. The Kingdom submitted the First Follow-up Report to the MENAFATF in February 2012. The report includes the new and updated legislations issued and the actions taken to cope with the implementation of all international standards and practices issued recently. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  The Kingdom amended the Anti-Money Laundering Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/31) dated 11/5/1433H to cover many domestic and international requirements and developments. Its Implementing Regulation was updated as well. Here, I would like to highlight that the national AML legislation was finalized in line with international developments and standards. The Kingdom hosted a number of conferences, symposiums and training courses on combating money laundering. The most important of which was the Fifteenth MENA-FATF General Meeting held in April 2012 in Jeddah. In September 2012, the Investigation and Public Prosecution Authority, in cooperation with MENA-FATF, also hosted a symposium on “the Role and Responsibility of Public Prosecution Agencies and Judicial Organs in Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing”. In September 2012, SAMA, in collaboration with the Secretariat General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, organized a workshop on Updating FATF Recommendations to Combat Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Weapons Proliferation.