Carlos da Silva Costa: From imperative to urgency - investment for social inclusion

Concluding remarks by Mr Carlos da Silva Costa, Governor of the Bank of Portugal, at the Council of Europe Development Bank conference, Lisbon, 4 July 2019.

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

Good afternoon,

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to close this conference on social inclusion promoted by the Council of Europe Development Bank.

The lively debates and the range of issues touched upon in the previous sessions illustrate how challenging and complex the topic of social inclusion is.

In this closing statement, I will briefly comment on three interrelated issues:

• First, I will argue that the dynamics taking place at different jurisdictional and territorial levels are critical to our understanding of the factors promoting or threatening social inclusion.
• Secondly, I will comment on the main policy instruments available at national level to promote social inclusion;
• And finally, I will stress the key role of a community's culture and values in determining its ability to generate and sustain inclusion dynamics.