on behalf of the bank of albania, i would like to thank all the experts that have helped and have been actively engaged for their successful realisation. in addition to the precious work of the bank of albania's staff, i would like to highlight the rather 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches precious contribution of many renowned academics, historians, albanologists, numismatists and experts from the most experienced companies in the field of banknote production. meanwhile, the bank of albania is working on the completion of the new series with two other banknotes, 500 lek and 2000 lek, which are in production process. concluding, i like to call on the users to handle each banknote with due care, in order to preserve their durability, quality and integrity in circulation. banknotes are more than a valuable paper. they boost and sustain the economic activity of albania and similarly tie with visible threads our national identity. i wish the public will welcome both new banknotes we are presenting today, like the previous ones. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

banknote are the symbol of flag and national anthem - the main symbols of our national identity - accompanied with the portrait of the distinguished poet of the albanian national renaissance, at the same time, author the “ national anthem ”, aleksander stavre drenova - commonly known by the pen name “ asdreni ”. the presentation of a new series of banknotes means more than a simple change of its image. the bank of albania continuously improves the quality of the banknote in circulation, aiming to preserve its integrity. both new banknotes, like all the other denominations of the new series, contain advanced security features. they are produced with cutting - edge technologies for banknote printing and personalised by denomination. the 1000 lek banknote integrates the raised print in the portrait of pjeter bogdani, numerals, lettering, and in the short lines, which help the visually - impaired people to easily identify and recognise the banknote. the security thread turns into a dark solid line when holding the banknote against the light, and changes colour from green to purple at different angles ; the sun symbol with colour - changing image depending on the tilting angle ; and on the back, the iridescent stripe at the centre that displays the value 1000 leke. the 10000 lek banknote integrates the raised print in the portrait of asdreni, numerals, lettering and in other areas of the banknote, as well as the element which helps the visually - impaired people to easily identify and recognise the banknote. the watermark image ; the hologram accompanied by various optical effects ; the security thread which turns into a dark solid against the light and changes colour from green to purple depending on titling angel ; and on the back, the iridescent stripe at the centre that displays the value 10000 leke. a safe banknote means that we can use cash securely and easily for its identification as a genuine banknote. this is the foundation of a sound financial system : confidence in the core financial operations where currency has its implacable role as an intermediator. from 30 june 2021, the banknotes of the new series 1000 lek and 10000 lek will be legal tender in the republic of albania and will be used as means of payment, alongside the existing banknotes. seeing the beauty and quality of these banknotes, i can absolutely tell you that the work done for their realisation was too valuable. hence,