gent sejko : main challenges facing statistics welcome address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, to the joint bank of albania - european central bank regional statistical seminar, tirana, 13 june 2018. * * * dear participants! it is a pleasure for me to be here today and open the regional seminar on central bank statistics. on behalf of the bank of albania, i would like to thank the european central bank for coorganising this seminar in tirana. also, i would like to welcome all representatives of central banks from the region and beyond, and all the participants in this seminar. the series of regional statistical seminars, organised by the ecb, provides an important forum for exchanging views on statistical requirements, formulating policies and discussing most recent developments on central bank statistics - related issues. we are all aware that having reliable, adequate, and timely data is a key element for decision making. ten years on, after the latest financial crisis, the fundamentals of the global economy, the architecture of the global financial system and the decision - making process are set on a constant restructuring process. the statistical function faces similar challenges. while the economies, markets and institutions develop, pressures mount on statistics to “ follow the trend and pace ” of such development. the emergence of the so - called “ information gap ” is inevitable in a fast - changing world, but our duty as statistical agencies is to increase speed up efforts to close this gap as soon as possible. * * * in the following, i would like to focus on the main challenges facing statistics, especially those that are pivotal for the successful realisation of the central bank functions. overall, the crisis revealed the need for richer and more effective statistics, to serve both the monetary policy and the macro - prudential policy. like never before, it is necessary for us to be informed and analyse economic data on several dimensions and at a granular extent. the financial sector ’ s growth and complexity highlight the importance of safeguarding financial system stability, as an essential element of central bank functions. the objective of financial stability has existed since the very establishment of the central bank institution. but, in the last decade, there is a clear focus on identifying potential threats to financial system stability, and constant attention on minimising them. likewise, achieving and maintaining price stability through monetary policy has changed. economic and financial analyses realised in central banks are becoming increasingly dependent on complex models, which enable a simultaneous analysis of the

not have been achieved yet despite all these favorable developments and achievements. our fight against inflation still continues. it should not be forgotten that this is a long and challenging process as confirmed by the inflation figures of 2006. when we consider the deterioration that inflation brought about both in economic and social life, we see that this fight is indispensable and significant ; that it is one of the determinant factors in shaping the future of an economy, a society, a country on solid foundations. distinguished guests, now, let me briefly mention the developments in inflation in 2006, the basic reasons leading to divergence from the target and the applications of the monetary policy within this process. 2006 has been a year during which supply shocks, seasonal conditions and external factors were determinant on inflation. as of the beginning of 2006, an upward trend in inflation was observed especially in the first seven months and the annual inflation went up to 11. 7 percent in july. the leading factor driving the inflation upwards in this period was the soaring unprocessed food product prices as of the end of 2005 due to the unfavorable weather conditions. annual rate of increase in the prices of this group became 21. 8 percent in july. fluctuations in the markets and depreciation of the turkish lira due to the negativities in the global liquidity conditions and the increase in uncertainty perceptions regarding our country during the mayjune period led to an increase in the prices of commodities priced in foreign currency besides imported goods and affected inflation figures unfavorably. another important factor that was influential in the first half of 2006 was an accelerated increase in the prices of crude oil and other commodity prices in the international markets. this increase, accompanied by the depreciation of the turkish lira led to a rise in domestic energy prices and so played a key role in increasing the inflation figures. a slow - down in price increases has been observed as of august due to the decrease in the prices of gold and oil in the international markets, stabilization in the financial markets with the re - appreciation of the turkish lira and the effect of the decisiveness in the fight against inflation over expectations. nevertheless, inflation remained high due to the sustained upward trend in the unprocessed food products, ramadan - based effects and the belated reflections of the depreciation experienced in the turkish lira following that date. looking at the end - year inflation in the main expenditures groups, we see that the annual inflation remains