Mr Chairman, I am informed that one of the notable projects being undertaken collaboratively is on ICT Governance implementation within the central banks using the Control Objectives for Information and related Technologies (COBIT) framework. BIS Review 42/2008  1  Ladies and Gentlemen, you will be delighted to learn that just last week a number of board members from central banks in Africa and across the world converged here in Livingstone to discuss the subject “Trends in Central Bank Governance”. Indeed good corporate governance is generally acknowledged as important in economic management and therefore, the role that ICT Governance plays, in this regard, can not be over emphasized. I am also informed that this conference will discuss some of the solutions available for implementing Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and the progress so far made in this regard. Indeed business continuity planning and management for ICT resources is critical to the operations of our Central Banks. The level of investment and dependence on ICT services is significant and few organizations could operate for long today without these resources. I therefore urge you to critically review this area that is equally important to the implementation of good corporate governance. Mr Chairman, allow me also to talk about financial inclusion or access to finance for all. Ladies and Gentlemen, as you are aware most of our rural areas are mostly unbanked due to infrastructural obstacles.
BIS Review 72/2001  3  Looking ahead Before I take a look at future tendencies, it may be in place to emphasise that the Swedish economy is fundamentally sound, with a good potential for growth and employment, accompanied by surpluses on the current account as well as the public finances. The recent temporary increase in inflation at a time of slowing activity is a problem that Sweden has in common with other countries around the world. Global economic growth has slowed, as I mentioned, during the spring. The fall-off has been deeper and more protracted than many observers counted on at the beginning of the year. Information received during the summer confirms the impression of a somewhat more drawn-out course, with an upturn that looks like being delayed, in many respects because the key player in the global economy - the United States - is still limping. The imminent recovery presaged by signals early this summer, above all from the financial markets, now seems somewhat more doubtful. The outlook for the Japanese economy is still highly uncertain. And in Europe the growth forecasts for the leading economies have had to be revised downwards. It is perhaps not surprising that after a series of years of strong growth it is taking time to overcome the tensions that arose in the wake of the economic euphoria in the United States. Neither is it odd that with an increasingly integrated global economy, the American slowdown is affecting many other countries, too.