ardian fullani : inflation targeting in practice greeting address by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the regional seminar on inflation targeting in practice, tirana, 10 october 2005. * * * dear participants, it is a great honour for me to address the opening speech of the regional seminar “ inflation targeting in practice ” organized by the centre of central banking studies in association with the bank of albania. i am delighted to see that the audience has an international composition. at the same time, i would like to take the opportunity to give my cordial thanks to mrs. gill hammond, ccbs deputy director and all speakers accompanying her during the proceedings of this seminar. i would also like to thank the bank of england and in particular the director of the centre of central banking studies, mr mario blejer, an old friend of mine, who continues to give his contribution to the improvement of the albanian image in the world, just like many years ago. this seminar is being organized in a very opportune time for the bank of albania. in less than two months, i shall be once more in front of a very distinguished international audience, to address the opening speech of the open forum on “ pre - conditions for launching inflation targeting in albania ". the object of this forum is to discuss the prime pre - conditions to be met by the bank of albania before launching the implementation of a new monetary policy strategy, with a particular emphasis on albania ’ s membership to the european union in the long - term run. the fact that we have been successful in controlling inflation during the last years holds true. we have managed to attain a general stability and i believe the policy adopted by us has been one of the key factors. another fact which holds true is that, for some time, we have been considering to take another step, attempting a more sophisticated, effective and certainly a more responsible and transparent monetary policy approach. to this aim, we have come to the conclusion that the actual framework of the monetary policy requires the necessity of being further completed and perfected with standard elements, adopted by other countries in the world and where the targeting inflation regime has proven to be successful. we are aware that this is not an effortless initiative to be seized. therefore, i consider that this is a great fortune for the bank of albania to have the possibility, on the verge of discussing the preconditions of adopting this regime, to closely discuss and consult the distinguished guests present in this seminar

central banks is essential to ensuring a country ’ s stability and prosperity. i am certain the bank of albania has accomplished its mission with professionalism providing a stable environment, especially with regard to banking system stability. this, however, is not accidental. not wanting to repeat myself, i have to restate that the bank of albania has been vigilant, monitoring scrupulously the financial soundness of the system, both before and after the onset of the crisis. with professionalism, dedication and farsightedness, we have succeeded in consolidating the independence of the institution, thanks to constant communication with all market actors, upholding the “ independence - accountability ” principle. transparency is the basis of decisionmaking in the field of monetary policy and financial stability. our effort to inject rational optimism with regard to the behaviour of economic agents has been in the synthesis of our stance throughout the difficult period that the global crisis has imposed on us. looking ahead, i believe it is indispensable for this spirit to be embraced and transmitted to the economy by all policymakers, economic agents, financial market, including the members of the public. the gist of this philosophy consists in comprehensive structural reforms that would accelerate our progress towards sustainable long - term development of the country. dear participants, the albanian central banking needs a date of birth. this date provides the opportunity to honour the efforts of the fathers of the nation to establish a central bank and consolidate the albanian state ; commemorate the efforts of all contributors to the development and promotion of this institution ; and look at future challenges and find ways to face them. the bank of albania will continue to be a responsible and reliable actor, to accomplish its legal mission and support the country's sustainable development. this first centennial of central banking in albania is a good omen for all of us. bis central bankers ’ speeches