gent sejko : welcome address - annual conference of the bank of albania welcome address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the annual conference of the bank of albania, tirana, 1 november 2018. * * * your excellency prime minister, your excellency minister of finance, dear professor berglof, dear governors and deputy governors, your excellencies, ambassadors, dear professors and representatives of the banking system, dear ladies and gentlemen, it is always a pleasure for me, as the governor of the bank of albania, to have the opportunity to open the proceedings of our annual conference. this year we are organising it in cooperation with the london school of economics and political science ( lse ), one of the foremost academic institutions in the field of research on economic and political sciences. the lse ’ s interest and the professional investment testifies that the cycle of our conferences has matured. i am sure that this year ’ s conference will uphold and even forge ahead the frontiers of our standards. engaging in open discussions and sharing our experiences will eventually help us to identify the optimum way for addressing the challenges that lie ahead. * * * this year ’ s theme is especially important not only to central banks but also to all the decisionmakers for the economy. while focusing on the direct implications for the monetary policy, it touches on issues that address strong and dynamic changes that economic structures, financial markets, doctrines of economic management, and societies and human communities are experiencing at the local and global level. recent reports by prestigious international financial institutions point out that the prospects of economic development remain positive. likewise, albania is set on a steady positive trajectory of economic growth. our prudent economic policies, the constant improvement of balance sheets in the real and financial sectors, and the ongoing restructuring of the economy and of the growth model have created adequate premises for an increasingly fuller utilisation of production capacities and the convergence of inflation toward the target. let me explain this in greater detail. according to official statistics, economic growth in albania accelerated to 4. 4 % in 2018 h1, showing a broad base in terms of aggregate demand components, and a diverse composition in terms of sectors contributing to growth. in particular, albanian exports showed growth, while the level of foreign direct investments remained high, contributing to the narrowing of the current account deficit and the stability of the external position. the dynamism of the exporting sector and the high level of foreign

policy regimes – starting with the design of monetary policies, continuing with the way they are anchored and the building of due capacities for a greater effectiveness of monetary policy in the future. that is why we agreed to put in place today ’ s workshop, as part of a continuing process of reflection and reform. in our discussions here in tirana, we will begin with questions of policy design, which are fundamental to set the stage for the later topics we will come to. we have suggested in advance several questions that may help stimulate the discussion, covering some of the key questions that are certainly left in my mind, as a practitioner, after navigating through the crisis so far. the issues of policy design include the questions how much room for manoeuvre there has been to use discretionary macro policy measures ; how far fiscal policy in future should build up a buffer against macro - financial risks ; how far national monetary and prudential regimes have been able to shield us from turbulence ; and whether we now see a need to attract new kinds of capital flow – perhaps to change the growth model in the region. this discussion of policy design will bring us to our second issue. it concerns the role of external anchors for monetary policy. one point of consensus in our washington meeting was that we need to revisit some aspects of this anchoring process, and the way it interfaces with countries ’ efforts to build up their own internal anchors over time. there are several questions about the future role of external and internal anchors. they include some reflection whether there is a need for more co - ordination and synergy between our policy dialogues with the imf and the commission ; how the commission ’ s fiscal surveillance ( through economic and fiscal programmes, pre - accession economic programmes, convergence programmes ) can be deepened and serve more as a commitment device ; how far there are lessons to learn about monetary anchors and prudential coordination mechanisms for the eu accession of our region ; and how we – including the external actors – can foster stronger domestic anchors in various forms, ranging from medium - term fiscal frameworks to more effective policy co - ordination mechanisms. finally, we will turn to the issue of capacity - building. this is a question on which we agreed, at this workshop, to already provide some operational input to the cef as it develops its work programme in this area. there is a long lead - time in the effectiveness of capacitybuilding, although fortunately the cef had already taken the initiative a few years ago to ramp