Jameel Ahmad: Changing dynamics - bank of the future

Keynote address by Mr Jameel Ahmad, Deputy Governor for Financial Markets, Islamic Banking & Special Initiatives Cluster at the State Bank of Pakistan, at the 29th Annual Convention of the Association of Professional Bankers, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21 November 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Good Evening and Ayubowan!

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be here today to address the 29th Annual Convention of the Association of Professional Bankers (APB) of Sri Lanka. I have always enjoyed visiting this beautiful country and am a great admirer of the friendly relationship that both our countries enjoy. 

Pakistan and Sri Lanka are time tested friends and share cordial bilateral relations which date back to as early as 1948. We have stood together and have shared strong cooperation with each other during difficult times. Pakistanis are also grateful to the people and government of Sri Lanka for the visit of their cricket team to Pakistan last month which is a major step towards the revival of international cricket in our country. Pakistan and Sri Lanka also share excellent economic cooperation. Pakistan is the second largest trading partner of Sri Lanka in South Asia while Sri Lanka was the first country to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan, which became operational in 2005. I have no doubt in my mind that the bilateral trade between the two countries which is approximately USD 330 million today, has the potential to increase to more than USD 1 billion.