Mr Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. The international financial system is market-led. Capital markets are open and integrated. How well they work determine the efficiency of investment, and the effectiveness and sustainability of development.

2. Reforming the international financial architecture means strengthening efficiency of financial markets and reducing vulnerability to crisis. The Financial Stability Forum was created in 1999 with the objective of identifying vulnerabilities in the international financial system and devising policy options to defuse them. One of its first projects was on capital flows, and how to help countries reduce their vulnerability to a volatile financial environment.

3.A key element in this process is the development is the development of standards and codes. These are sound practices - built on the experience of countries that have already undergone the process of financial deepening - and conceived as a benchmark for all countries to improve: i/ their financial supervision, ii/ their financial infrastructure (accounting, auditing and corporate governance rules...) and iii/ transparency.

4. The Financial Stability Forum is an institutional mechanism to promote efficiency and reduce instability on global financial markets. It is composed of senior financial policy-makers (Treasury, Central bank, Regulatory agencies) from the world' s largest financial centers, as well as key international standard-setters and international financial institutions.

5. The FSF, as originally established, is not complete. It needs the involvement of non-members to increase ownership in the implementation of its recommendations, to instill a broader perspective into its deliberations and to play an effective role in the provision of technical assistance.

6. As Chairman of the FSF, in conformity with the mandate given to me by the G7 Ministers and Governors and the recommendation of the Monterrey declaration, I am determined to promote this through regional meetings involving non-members and participation in working groups.