monetary policy, bank of albania today thinks that inflation targeting is the way to take. better highways will bring us more quickly from tirana to the airport. likewise, the better monetary policy is able to maintain price stability, the quicker albania can take the road and reach the levels of neighboring europe with their higher welfare levels. we are fully aware that adopting fully fledged inflation targeting is a process that requires hard work with several preconditions in place, as these two days have underlined. getting to inflation targeting is more of a marathon than a steeplechase. our two days here have shown that it is not a discrete onetime decision that resolves all problems. it should also be a smooth process. this holds in particular for a transitioning country like albania. our country faces different challenges and virtues compared with developed countries. now, how is our working agenda set? i want to distinguish between the working areas within and outside the central bank. and the working area outside the central bank can be split into albania and the international environment. i see the further building of the central bank as a recognized and respected institution as one of my primary tasks. qualified young and ambitious people need to help us bringing our internal discussions and work to higher levels. cutting - edge discussions and fundamental studies are needed to make the central bank choosing the best policies, on monetary policy as well as on supervision and financial stability ( in a broad sense ). the human resources capacities need to be secured. inflation targeting is to be further scrutinized in all respects. econometric models need further development for forecasting inflation and analyzing transmission channels. more statistical work needs to be done, in particular on micro information from the real side of the economy. a specialized unit should concentrate on all areas that cover the consumer price index. a clear and professional communication strategy is to be developed. information on monetary policy is to be translated into a language for the different population groups in our country. next to all these activities, we need to continue our discussions on the monetary decision making arrangements that are deemed essential for inflation targeting. these activities within bank of albania are on my agenda for tomorrow. outside the central bank in albania we need to take all efforts for a further development of the financial markets and other transmission channels. we cannot do this on our own. in this respect we should establish a deeper constructive collaboration with other national institutions. we should elaborate with the ministry of finance and the parliament on the legal issues for strengthening the central bank ’ s

been extended to other areas, such as the review of the basel committee core principles for effective supervision, in which hong kong is heavily involved. successful implementation of basel ii depends not just on the standard - setters and the regulators, but also on the banks themselves. the enthusiasm with which the hong kong banking community has taken to basel ii has been impressive. as a senior member of this community, our discussant today is particularly well equipped to provide the perspective from the banks. we are fortunate in having secured david eldon ’ s presence today. after more than 40 years in banking, many of them in hong kong, he is about to retire from the field. he is thus currently much in demand among his many friends within the financial community, who wish to fete him on his retirement. he is also receiving bookings in his new, risk - taking career as popular singer and entertainer – a field in which we wish him every success. i take this opportunity to pay tribute to david for his outstanding contributions to hong kong during difficult and challenging times, not just in the financial sphere, but also in the many community and charitable activities in which he is involved. ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour to welcome governor jaime caruana as speaker, and mr david eldon as discussant. i now have much pleasure in inviting governor caruana to deliver the seventh hkma distinguished lecture.