supply shock was directly transmitted in the production costs and consumer prices. thus, inflation accelerated and has reached unprecedented rates unseen for some decades. 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches these developments triggered substantial challenges to decision makers in both public and private sectors. the increased costs and disrupted global chains of production and trade drove operators of private sector to re - assess the adequacy of business plans and take operational and financial measures to preserve the stability of their balance sheets. the insofar developments are encouraging. the albanian private sector has continued to mark an increase in both consumption and investments, in turn generating a rise of employment and wages, growth of productivity and sound financial balance sheets. the rapid and comprehensive mounting of prices, imposed to public sector decision makers the two - fold challenge to mitigating the economic and social consequences in the short term and safeguarding the monetary and financial stability of albania in the medium and long - term. to achieve these objectives, as the report points out, the harmonisation of monetary policy with fiscal policy has been and remains a crucial feature of the successful economic policies. the medium - and long - term price stability has been and is a constant priority of the bank of albania's work. for this reason, we have early started and firmly implemented a normalisation process of monetary policy stance. this process was materialised in a progressive increase of the policy rate, in view of an open communication of our expectations for the future, as a continuous reaffirmation of the bank of albania's willingness to take all the necessary measures for the return of inflation to target, within a reasonable time horizon, and at rather lower costs on the economic activity. prudent analyses and forecasts, based on the latest information and oriented in view of safeguarding the proper balances of risks in the albanian economy, have guided these decisions. at the same time, the reduction of budged deficit, appearing in the form of decelerated public investments, has supported the control of inflationary pressures and has provided more space for the reaction of fiscal policy in the future. in parallel, the subsidy of electricity retail price to households and the implementation of social packages these measures are estimated at around 2 % of gdp - helped to mitigate the shock impact on vulnerable groups of the albanian society. our economic policies helped in maintaining a relatively low inflation level compared with regional countries, reducing uncertainty and safeguarding financial stability. our projections suggest inflation will continue on a downward trajectory during 2023,

ardian fullani : the banking system – promoter of economic development speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the regional meeting “ the banking system – promoter of economic development ”, kukes, 12 september 2008. * * * dear governor, dear mayor of kukes municipality, dear mayor of prizren municipality, dear mr. uldedaj, dear mr. basha, dear participants, i am delighted to be here today and there are many good reasons why i was looking forward to this gathering. for the second time within a relatively short period of time i see this gigantic engineering work growing every day and taking its final shape. every single person visiting the road segment reshen – kalimash understands that what they have in front of them is an extraordinary engineering, civil, useful, far - sighted and patriotic work. similarly, my return to kukes after quite a long time has surprised me. there is now a completed airport, cross - border activity has intensified, the climate is extraordinary and soon this town will turn into a city with modern infrastructure. numerous opportunities are ahead of you. your cleverness stands in perceiving them and making use of them cleverly in order to enhance the opportunities of the kukes community and the north - east region. the other reason for making me feel delighted is the presence of my kosovar counterpart, mr. hashim rexhepi. this meeting is of special significance. the central bank of the republic of kosovo is now growing and consolidating day after day under the management of an albanian professional unlike some time ago when the management of the central bank was the task of a foreign central banker. meetings of this kind are now turning into a tradition. after holding similar meetings in korca, gjirokastra, shkodra and saranda we are now being introduced with a new reality of the north - east region, and i believe that the town of kukes plays a key role in this area. through these regional meetings we aim to be in touch with the economic and financial reality of different regions in albania. given the weather, cultural, social, geographical, demographic, objective and subjective characteristics, each region has different economic and social development opportunities and levels. from this viewpoint, we aim to fully be acquainted with these specific characteristics, identify all the financial and natural resources, formulate “ recipes ” and other advice which would help in making more rational use of them. beyond what i previously