Gent Sejko: Future Balkans - towards a global inclusion Speech by Mr Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the Tirana Economic Forum "Future Balkans: Towards a global inclusion" Leadership, Institutions and Policies Convergence 2017-2020, Tirana, 24 January 2018. * * *  Your Excellency Mr President, Your Excellency Deputy Prime Minister of Albania, Your Excellency Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Honourable Minister of Finance and Economy, My fellow Colleagues and Honourable Participants, It is a pleasure for me to participate at this Conference, convened to discuss on the importance of regional integration, which should be promoted by a forward-looking leadership and supported by the policies convergence. I believe that the dialogue that focuses on sharing our vision for the future, the convergence of perspectives about the challenges ahead of us, and identifying the objectives and drafting agendas for joint action, will be a fruitful dialogue to all of us. Policy convergence, both within and between countries, promotes efficiency and minimizes negative spill-overs. The role of institutions in the growth and development Institutions are the backbone of any modern society, in as much as they generate and implement laws, regulations and policies of development, thus laying out the rules of the game in a market economy. From a broader perspective, these rules should provide for a stable and transparent environment, thus enabling a predictable and long-term decision-making process. They should promote fair competition and equality of opportunities, and they should engender fairness and social cohesion.

Fifth, in competing for the same pool of international investors, countries in the region often attempt to raise their individual profile through offering tax break or other subsidies. This race to the bottom does not prove to be productive. Resolving any of these issues requires foresight, strong institutions, determined policy action, and regional coordination. Institutions and integration Our region is actively involved in the EU integration process. This objective is the lighthouse for our institutional reform efforts and has produced notable benefits. The EU integration is aiding authorities in the region to anchor their institutional reforms and policies. On the other hand, the EU institutions provide oversight and lend credibility to the process. Additionally, since individual countries are working towards common objectives, regional policy is better coordinated. However, I also believe countries in the region could do more to share their experiences and learn from each other. Albania offers a positive example in terms of economic and financial stability. Macedonia has done exceptionally well in terms of attracting high-value-added FDIs. Serbia is on the regional vanguard of financial market development. All of us should learn from our individual success stories; all of us should avoid mistakes we have individually made in the past. Our countries share more commonalities than differences: what works for one is more likely than not to work for others, and vice versa. Furthermore, I believe we should look at regional integration as a goal in itself, rather than as an instrument to EU integration.