Ignazio Visco: Thirty years of Bank of Italy in Japan

Speech by Mr Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy, at the Thirty Years of Bank of Italy in Japan Anniversary Celebration, Tokyo, 11 June 2019.

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

Governor Kuroda, Ambassador Starace,

Distinguished representatives of Japan's authorities, of the financial and corporate sectors, of academic and research institutions, and members of the Italian, European and international communities in Tokyo,

I am delighted to welcome you all this evening, and to see several personal friends among you, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Banca d'Italia's Tokyo Representative Office, which was officially inaugurated on January 27, 1989 by Governor Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, in the presence of the Bank of Japan's Governor, Satoshi Sumita.

A special word of welcome goes to those of you who also attended that event. Like the Bank of Japan and other central banks around the world, the Bank of Italy has long recognised the value of a stable presence in major international financial centres, for liaising with local authorities, disseminating information on and analyses of the respective economies, and for closely monitoring market developments. The Bank's first 'Delegation' - as our foreign offices were, and still are formally called - was opened in London in 1917, soon to be followed by the New York Office.