i would stress again that the scope of business continuity plans for central banks goes beyond the avian flu. v. avian flu : the indian case if seen in the indian perspective, the first case of bird flu in maharashtra was announced on february 18, 2006 as a sample of an affected poultry farm from navapur was tested positive for highly pathogenic h5n1 viral strain. first case of h5n1 infection in birds was reported in india in february 2006. initially, the virus infected 52 poultry farms in northern part of maharashtra and such reports put authorities in other states on high alert as such a contagious disease could be source of concern for the indian economy in general and poultry industry in particular. india is the fifth largest producer of eggs and the livestock and poultry sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in india. it may be noted that outbreak of avian flu was navapur and uchhal in maharastra was a localised one, which has been contained effectively. the major poultry exporting states are located at a considerable distance from navapur. according to ministry of agriculture, the export of poultry / poultry products from these states is absolutely safe as the samples tested are negative ( government of india, 2006a ). according to the ministry of agriculture, there has been no case of avian flu reported since april 18 of this year. prudence, however, demands that we should take all possible precautions in this regard and be prepared to face any eventuality of any nature. according to minister of agriculture, consumer affairs, food and public distribution, " though the poultry industry had suffered heavily because of the outbreak of bird flu this year, india would be in a position to declare the country free from this disease very soon ( government of india, 2006b ). " to avoid any large scale avian flu pandemic, the indian authorities have already announced various protective measures. action plan has been prepared for the guidance of the animal husbandry departments of the state governments. this action plan for the state governments consists of three parts. part i gives the action plan in case of any suspicion of occurrence of avian flu at any place. part ii describes the action plan in the unlikely event of the outbreak of the disease being confirmed by laboratory tests. part iii provides advice to persons who may be required to handle highly pathogenic avian influenza ( hpai ) affected poultry. recently, the indian council of agricultural research ( icar ) has developed an indigenous

ladies and gentlemen, 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches in conclusion, i would like to emphasise that this is not the time to rest in our laurels, but we need to reflect on future challenges in order to render the local capital market as vital and as functional as possible. the approval of the latest policy paper " on creating an environment which facilitates the development of capital markets in albania, 20232027 " is a qualitative step toward the identification of problems and obstacles and of relevant suggestions to improve the main components for the development of capital markets. they aim to further complete the legal and regulatory framework, the market infrastructure, financial education and the development of various capital market segments. in this framework, the bank of albania in cooperation with the afsa and the ministry of finances and economy is undertaking the necessary steps to start an important project with the ebrd, which will identify the need to amend the legal acts that regulate financial market activity, aiming to render the trading environment safer, for both international and national investors. given the characteristics of the albanian financial market, the bank of albania deems that the development of capital market must be stable and gradual. it should give priority to opportunities that attract more non - resident investors, strengthen investing capacities of non - bank financial institutions and increase liquidity in their secondary markets. furthermore, the expansion of both stock and derivative products will be driven by strengthening the harmonising capacities of supervision and reporting to lawabiding institutions. on the other hand, the policy - making should also allow fiscal facilitations, primarily in regards to investors, which would translate in low financing costs for the issuer. also, creating a special room in the administrative court to resolve financial market disputes will help improve the investing climate. in the same vein, the establishment of the financial ombudsman will ensure legal support to investors that are engaged in or benefit from financial services. last but not least, the banking system should support the capital market development through the diversification of investments toward corporate products. this market should be considered complementary rather than as a competition to the economy, where banks would profit in regards to both investment portfolio diversification, as well as better risk management. i wish the best of luck to the financial stakeholders present here! thank you for your attention. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches