Trade volume between Turkey and Egypt has also steadily increased from USD 500 million in 2003 to USD 3.2 billion in 2009. It is expected that these figures will reach up to USD 5 billion in the next three-years. One reason for this rapid increase is that both countries have completed the legal ground which secures free trade between countries. The Free Trade Agreement, which has recently been put into effect, does not only provide opportunities for higher trade volumes but also functions as a framework that brings together investors from both countries. Turkey has long provided a significant conduit for the flow of humanitarian and economic assistance to Iraq. Today, the volume of bilateral trade is also rapidly rising. The bilateral trade volume has been increased significantly since 2006 and reached to 6 billions USD in 2009. The high-level official visits between Turkey and Iraq have been providing impetus to the diversification and advancement of our economic cooperation. Moreover, Turkish companies play a leading role in the reconstruction of Iraq. Our trade with Jordan and Lebanon exceeded USD 1 billion in 2009. With the conclusion of the ongoing negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement between Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, trade relations among our countries are expected to gain volume. Dear guests,  Increasing commercial relations naturally led to an increase in international banking services among our economies. Having a sound financial position, Turkish banks can contribute both to building commercial and financial links within the region.
The question of which should be the role of central banks in  3/4  financial crisis prevention or mitigation is still far away from reaching any definite answer. Several papers in this conference will deal with this important issue. Third, we need to have a better understanding of how monetary policy and other macroeconomic policies are transmitted. By now, it is clear that the standard new Keynesian framework, which still shapes our general view of the basic elements of monetary policy, has some relevant shortcomings. For example, recent research has underlined how additional channels related to household and firm heterogeneity may provide a more realistic depiction of how monetary and fiscal policies affects the economy, modifying –or even overturning- some of the prescriptions derived from models with representative agents. This is a line of research linking both empirical and theoretical work that may have consequences for our work as central bankers. Your discussions over the next couple of days will help to improve our understanding of some of these complex issues, ranging from the emergence and consequences of bubbles in asset markets, to the role of individual heterogeneity in the transmission of macro policies and in the aggregate incidence of financial frictions. Conclusion To conclude, I would like to say that both policymakers and academics face new challenges in our understanding of how central banks should act in order to fulfill our mandates and maximize the welfare of the citizens we work for.