BY LORETTA B MANELE
The Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) is strengthening its local research capabilities, an initiative vital for public policy decision making in the country.
CBSI Governor, Dr Luke Forau shared the sentiment at the 2nd CBSI-ADB-APAEA Joint Workshop on Friday at Heritage Park Hotel.
Themed “Monetary and Fiscal Policies Amid Global Uncertainty”, the workshop was hosted by CBSI, ADB (Asian Development Bank) and APAEA (Asia Pacific Applied Economics Association).
In his address, Governor Forau said at country level, we face unique challenges which include the growing impact of climate change, more frequent natural disasters and open economies.
He added that such challenges pose risks to our financial system and our ability to plan for the future.
Governor Forau said CBSI is strengthening its local research capabilities and building a research ecosystem led by local capacity.
“In doing so, we empower our institutions to produce independent, high-quality analysis that supports sound and resilient public policy decision-making in the country,” he said.
He also stressed on how essential and critical some monetary and fiscal policies are to ensure macroeconomic stability, create opportunities, and build a more resilient future for all our island economies.
“This underscores the importance of ensuring that our policy decisions are grounded in the most effective, truly evidence-based policy decisions, and identify risks and design effective policy responses.
“The insights shared by our economists, academics, and research partners provide the impetus and the foundation for informed and sober-looking policymaking,” he said.
Governor Forau stated that evidence-based policy decisions strengthen our capacity to respond effectively to national, regional, and global shocks, thereby enhancing the credibility of our institutions.
“Looking ahead, a key part of this effort is building a vibrant and dynamic research ecosystem, one that brings together the skilled people, timely and accurate data, and access to up-to-date tools and technologies that will enable us to conduct independent economic research that informs and supports evidence-based policymaking,” he said.
Governor Forau voiced that research partnerships such as CBSI, ADB and APAEA play a pivotal role in demonstrating the value of collaboration and capacity building, ensuring that knowledge and skills are effectively transferred and sustained within our institutions.
He said building on the success of last year’s inaugural conference, this year’s event marks yet another significant milestone in their ongoing efforts to promote research collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing among Central Banks, financial institutions, policy makers, academics and researchers across the Asia Pacific region.
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