Media Release 5th High-level Seminar of Central Banks in the East Asia-Pacific Region and the Euro Area

The 5th High-level Seminar of Central Banks in the East Asia-Pacific Region and the Euro Area was jointly organised by the European Central Bank and the Reserve Bank of Australia, in cooperation with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The Seminar was held in Sydney on 9 and 10 February and was attended by central bank Governors or their representatives. The purpose of the Seminar was to exchange views on key policy issues of mutual interest and to deepen relationships between the monetary authorities of the two regions.

The Governors reviewed economic policies in the aftermath of the financial crisis, including exit strategies, and the shape and structure of global growth. They discussed the challenges posed by cross-border banking and the prospect of strengthening macroprudential supervision. Finally, they discussed the evolution of the international financial architecture.

The representatives from the East Asia-Pacific Region were from the Executives' Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP), which comprises eleven central banks and monetary authorities in the East Asia-Pacific region (Australia; China; Hong Kong SAR; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; New Zealand; Philippines; Singapore and Thailand).

The representatives from the Euro Area were from the Eurosystem, which comprises the European Central Bank and the sixteen national central banks of the Euro Area Member States (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain).