, after the formation of the albanian state. during ww2, the albanian currency underwent radical changes. on its obverse and reverse we no longer see king zog. instead, victor emanuel iii is featured and the most significant change is that the albanian franc was officially pegged to the fate of the italian lira. we will have the opportunity to hear, during the day, other interesting and important examples in the monetary and economic history of albania. dear ladies and gentlemen, this conference does not seek to analyse wars and the various factors triggering them ; instead, it aims to show how the radical changes introduced by wars or conflicts on political systems and alliances, or the divisions between states have affected monetary developments. the history shows that conflict or war periods are particularly related to radical changes in monetary systems and policies. over the centuries, we find various examples of such developments, materialised in changes in the monetary system or introduction of temporary fiscal policies, additional quantity of money 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches issued before the start and during a war, massive circulation of a monetary type in areas far away from their place of origin, higher number of hoards found in a conflict zone or massive usage of the currency of allied countries. numerous phenomena testify to the constant presence of a relationship throughout epochs, between military conflicts on the one hand and the role of money in wartime on the other. to better reflect the relationship between conflicts or war and money, we have decided for the conference proceedings to follow a chronological order of presentations, starting from antiquity, to middle ages and the modern history of the xx century. our guests are distinguished professors, scholars, historians, and representatives from central bank museums who responded to our invitation to research and lecture on this topic. the views and conclusions expressed in the presentations are of the authors and not necessarily of the respective institutions or the bank of albania. wishing success to the conference, i hope that all the participants will benefit from the interesting presentations that will be shared with the audience today. i have now the pleasure to invite our keynote speaker, prof. olivier picard, former director of the french archaeological school in athens, professor at the sorbonne university, member of the “ academie des inscriptions et belles – lettre ” ( institute of france ), who will hold a presentation on “ minting of coins in illyria in wartime ”. thank you! 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

gent sejko : effectively using remittances sent by albanians abroad address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the high - level meeting on the remittances from the albanian diaspora, tirana, 11 december 2017. * * * dear minister majko, dear guests, welcome to the premises of the bank of albania! i would like first to thank the minister of state for the diaspora, mr pandeli majko, for his initiative for higher attention to drawing in and effectively using the remittances sent by albanians abroad. today ’ s meeting is the first in a series of common steps to be taken by albanian institutions, in an effort to give its due place to the financial contribution by albanian emigrants to the welfare of their families at home. this contribution is also vital for the sustainable and long - term development of the albanian economy. the bank of albania has always considered the remittances as a very important contributing factor for the economy of albania and beyond. in this light, the bank of albania measures and analyses the available statistics, and conducts non - quantitative assessments related to the geographical distribution of the sources of remittances, at the national and international level. the assessment of factors contributing to the level of remittances and the cyclical volatility of their flows over the years remains at the focus of our work. for albania, remittances represent a steady and considerable source of inflows, which surpass foreign direct investments, being thus a substantial source of financing economic growth in albania. in this regard, the bank of albania considers remittances as an important source of income in the economy and a contributor to the balance of payments. from a narrower perspective, remittances are estimated to have a significant impact on albanian households, for reducing the poverty and improving the quality of life. even in the case of albania, the studies performed by the bank of albania and the world bank show that the income from remittances are allocated mainly for consumption, medication, and education, as well as for savings and investments, the latter mainly for residential properties. in addition to the above, the bank of albania treats remittances also from the perspective of their inflow channels in the albanian economy. recent studies show that the formal transfer channels dominate, mainly through money transfer financial institutions, and less through banks. in the meantime, remittances in cash remain at