providing evidence for their economic impact on albania. despite these figures, their future prospective is yet unclear. the integration of albanians into their host countries, their economic and financial situation and other similar reasons have a negative impact in the long term. our analyses and assessments show that the difficult economic situation the developed economies have been experiencing, expressed in the economic slowdown, unemployment growth and increase of inflation, has also provided its impact on the performance of remittances which have grown less this year relative to the previous years. empirical studies of the bank of albania show that the cease of these flows would put our consumption model and the long - term balance of the external sector of the economy in the difficult position. our concern related to the household budget stands in the fact that the behaviour model we adopt at a household level can also affect the behaviour model of given regions. the albanian economy has by and large made evident progress, detaching itself from the ida country group. macroeconomic indicators have for a relatively long period been positive and stable. however, beyond the nationwide average indicators, detailed statistics by regions indicate that welfare in mountain areas has progressed at slower rates relative to the other regions. according to world bank assessments, an average resident in the mountain area has 12 % less per capita real consumption than the average resident in tirana, while in 2002 this figure was 9 %. according to the same source, the average rural coast resident has 34 % higher per capita consumption than the average mountain rural resident. generally, poverty has a strong positive relation with the family size and a negative relation with age and education. in contrast, the district of kukes has great potentials for more prosperity in this area. first, your district is distinguished for its rare natural beauty and diversity from the mountain and ethnographic tourism viewpoint. the opening of the border with kosovo in particular has provided us with real opportunities to perceive the northern alps as a single complex with their continuity to kosovo and why not to montenegro. i think the completed airport, which could very well be used for the transportation of winter sports fanatics, is another strong point. it is the local authorities ’ task, to undertake in co - operation with the local stakeholders projects and feasibility studies, which in a later time may be submitted and presented to the central authorities or the specialized international operators. i would like to inform you that at the moment, their interest is overwhelming and concrete. time is ripe for you to increase the marketing of these potentials and point out their strong

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