Therefore, additionally to the traditional issues of monetary policy and central banking, an exceptional attention during the workshop will be given to climate change related risks and green finance - which have turned into the "leitmotiv" in the communications of many central banks, and European and international institutions, - digitalization of financial services and technological improvements, and their implications for central bank objectives. I am confident that the research papers on these "hot" topics will provide some guidance on how to approach these issues, arising from the recent economic developments. Strong cooperation would be extremely useful on this regard, also because such areas are still under-researched. In these brief opening comments, allow me to point out that the coming months will be challenging for our societies, and the following years may see substantial structural transformations. Addressing the main challenges faced by the Albanian economy, such as, inflation, energy crisis, etc., triggers many obligations to be taken and many policy paths to be considered by the authorities. Our experience in the implementation of existing old and new policy tools and policies in such harsh and changing conditions is growing, but new risks are also emerging. Research and discussion fora like this workshop, in which fresh ideas and experiences are exchanged among academics and policymakers, will be ever more important. It is the application of research findings and conclusions in the practical policy making that gives research its true value and meaning, for the benefit of the central bank and the society.

3/4  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  Before concluding, I would like to thank the Swiss Government and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) for their continuous support of research activity at the Bank of Albania. We have been cooperating together for 10 years to build and improve research activity to the best international standards and make it practical and useful in the context of the central bank. Our models and a significant part of research projects have been developed in cooperation or under the technical assistance of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs as part of the Bilateral Assistance and Capacity Building Program for Central Banks. This project led, reviewed and commented research projects undertaken by our staff, and made substantial contribution to the credibility, reputation and prestige of our Research Workshop. Our cooperation has been truly productive and very useful not only for the development of research activity and state of the art forecast and policy analysis modes but most importantly, for their implementation in the mainstream policy of the Bank of Albania in the areas of monetary policy, financial stability, and the analysis of demographic and climate change issues. Beyond and above these, our successful collaboration with the State secretariat for Economic Affairs extends to the areas of payment systems and financial education. Your Excellency Ambassador Huber, we are grateful for your support and look forward to the successful implementation of our current projects. I hope we will have many other opportunities to continue our fruitful cooperation in the future.