Conferences
The first conference for central banks of the Three Seas Initiative countries (3SI)
entitled Monetary Policy in the New European Reality
Warsaw, 10 June 2022
On 10 June 2022, on the initiative of Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP), the first international conference for central banks of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) countries entitled Monetary Policy in a New European Reality, organised under the Honorary Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, was held in Warsaw. The purpose of the conference was to initiate discussion and create a forum for the exchange of opinions and experiences between the central banks of 12 countries of the region on the conditions for conducting monetary policy in the new international reality shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The conference was attended by high-level representatives of all the central banks of the Initiative countries (except Bulgaria), other countries of the region (Albania, Georgia, Iceland, North Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Turkey), as well as domestic and international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The conference was opened by the Governor of NBP, Adam Glapiński, who in his speech recalled the rapid and courageous measures taken by central banks (including NBP) in response to the pandemic crisis, at the same drawing attention to the current challenges that they face. Afterwards, a letter to the conference participants from the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, was read out, in which the President indicated the need to further strengthen the solidarity of the “free world” countries and the importance of exchanging views between central banks on their role in the modern world.
The introductory lecture to the discussion during the main part of the conference was delivered by IMF Deputy Managing Director, Kenji Okamura, emphasising the recent economic progress of Central and Eastern Europe, the rapid response of central banks to the pandemic crisis, and the ongoing threat of high inflation and declining economic growth. The special guest of the conference was the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Kyrylo Shevchenko, who expressed his gratitude for the support of Poland and NBP for Ukraine and NBU, and also drew attention to the need for all financial institutions to act cohesively in the current reality and to take quick and bold decisions.
The main part of the conference consisted of three thematic panels. The first, led by First Deputy Governor of NBP, Marta Kightley, was devoted to monetary policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second, led by Chairman of the Board of Lietuvos bankas, Gediminas Šimkus, concerned the evolution of the structural underpinnings of monetary policy. The topic of the last panel, chaired by the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Boris Vujčić, focused on the challenges and prospects for monetary policy in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The first conference of the central banks of the Three Seas Initiative countries organized by NBP is part of a wider trend of gradually expanding dialogue and cooperation among the countries in the region into new areas. It should be considered a successful attempt to create a forum for dialogue and potential cooperation between Central European countries in the area of monetary policy and central banking, and an opportunity to complement the IT cooperation architecture in this area..
1 Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary.