factor for further strengthening financial stability in albania and providing an impetus to the economy. on the other hand, the indirect role consists in the cooperation that you may offer to many structural reforms across all the sectors of the economy and in all the dimensions of the business setting. your expertise is not insignificant. it must assume an authoritative place in the economic debate. third, while acclaiming the cooperation between the bank of albania and the albanian association of banks and commercial banks in educational activities, i would also like to iterate the importance of financial education and financial inclusion. as financial services and products develop and become more complicated, financial education helps users to understand and use them ; it also helps preventing financial crisis and contributes to the financial stability and economic growth of a country. we need to continue to be key promoters in designing and implementing financial education programmes. financial education is an investment in the future and it should be an integral part of our agendas, engaging more intensively in the implementation of alternative and innovative methods for enhancing financial education among the public. in conclusion, let me assure you once again that you will find in the bank of albania a loyal, supportive and serious partner, adherent to its legal mandate. our decision - making will be transparent and all our initiatives will be guided by a spirit of cooperation with the banking sector, aiming at ensuring highest efficiency. i wish you a successful and prosperous year for you and your families. thank you for your attention! 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

2008. we project that the gdp will grow during the present year by 6 percent. in addition, our projections indicate that the 12 - month inflation will mark around 3 per cent at end year, which is very close to our numerical target. all the other macroeconomic indicators attest to a relative stability with rates being close to our projections. despite this positive outlook, the public attention is at this moment future - oriented. in this context, the year 2009 shows a more complex setting, with numerous challenges ahead not only for the real economy but also for the monetary policy, the fiscal sector, the external sector of the economy and the financial system at home. with respect to the international developments, the partner countries are close or have now plunged into economic recession. the decline of the economy, among others, affects negatively “ the export of its surplus ” in goods, capital and investments in partner countries. in this context, the possible slowdown in foreign currency inflows may constitute a future occurrence, although the intensity at which this phenomenon may be exhibited is still vague. in the recent months there has been a halt in the price rise of raw materials, oil and foods. in addition, a rapid correction process of these prices on the demand side has commenced. the further fall in prices may affect the decline on both sides of foreign trade. but, given the difference between imports and exports by several times, the net effect will naturally be the reduction of trade deficit. worth to note, however, is that the fall in prices may impact indirectly the performance of fiscal revenues since the amount on which the fiscal tariffs are applied will be lower. we are now facing the reduction in lending and credit lines extended by parent banks to their subsidiaries. based on these arguments, the bank of albania assesses that there is an increasing risk that the economic growth may slow down in 2009. the harmonization of the two basic policies in economy is a key element which ensures growth and a balanced development. in this context, we are in the process of analyzing the new project drafted by the government for 2009. we remain constant in the belief that the harmonization of both basic policies remains a priority in the future as well. to this purpose, we require from the government the inclusion in the fiscal package for 2009 of a fiscal rule on the performance of fiscal policy. this rule should be quantitative, monitorable and extended through the entire political mandate, with a clear bias towards the quantitative maastricht criteria. other possible risks involve those