gent sejko : welcome remarks - 15th see economic research workshop welcome remarks by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the 15th see economic research workshop, virtual, 6 december 2021. * * * dear professors and researchers from academia, dear fellow central bank colleagues and researchers, dear participants, it is a great pleasure to open the proceedings of the 15th see economic research workshop, which is being organised virtually this year as well, due to the covid - 19 pandemic restrictions that are still in place. i take this opportunity to express my wish that we would all stay safe and healthy and for the negative effects of the pandemic to come to an end as soon as possible. i hope that the vaccination process, progress in knowledge, cures against covid - 19, and an improvement in the overall situation caused by the pandemic, would enable us to welcome you in tirana next year. i am glad to note that we have again a full house and a rich agenda this year, with two days in which colleagues and researchers from central banks as well as distinguished universities in albanian and worldwide will present their works. we really appreciate your interest in participating in this workshop and in the research carried out by the bank of albania throughout 2021. i am confident that discussions across this workshop ’ s panels will be very interesting. the annual organisation of this workshop has served to share experiences with the participating central banks and have enriched research work, becoming in turn an integral contributor to policy formulation. these workshops have made a valuable contribution for confirming and interpreting research results, which enable the compilation, calibration and implementation of policy measures for tackling the pandemic and similar shocks. your findings, comments and discussions assist our authors to improve their studies, and in turn contribute to the formulation and decision making of policy at the central bank. evidence, analysis and forecasts based on the research work that you will present in these two days will provide accurate and valuable information for orienting and coordinating decision making in the future. 20 research projects will be presented and discussed this year, which in in spite of covering a broad gamut / range of topics, are directly related to the activity and interests of the central bank. we have discussed almost the same topics a year ago however, you could rightly say : “ what a difference, compared to last year? ” in 2020, discussions were focused on the modern monetary policy, and the role of the central bank

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