fatos ibrahimi : development of small and medium - sized enterprises in albania speech by mr fatos ibrahimi, deputy governor of the bank of albania, at the meeting of launching the " program on the development of the small and medium - sized enterprises ", tirana, 20 january 2009. * * * your excellency mr. ambassador, honourable mr. ministers, honourable participants, it is a special pleasure for me to attend this event and i avail myself of the opportunity to greet on behalf of the bank of albania this joint recent initiative, between the ministry of economy and the italian collaboration. the financial support of small and medium - sized enterprises has a particular importance for the development of this project and for the release of managing abilities of the economic units. the financing of small enterprises, for the small developing economies, is a worthy opportunity to increase both the employment and the economic activity based on the initiative, ideas and producing capabilities of small groups or of distinguished individuals, who owns the courage and knowledge to generate material goods and to increase the welfare of the society. the small and medium - sized enterprises in albania, over the transition period, have been growing with quick steps, hence showing up as a distinguished characteristic of the whole albanian transition, having survived to the domestic economic difficulties as the fall of pyramid schemes or other problems related to the reforms and the process of completing the institutional and legal framework. the contribution of small enterprises to the growth of service, construction, trade and agriculture sectors, where micro - enterprises compose the largest part of this group, has been obviously significant for the short - term and stable revival of the albanian economy. these enterprises have provided a substantial input to the decrease of unemployment and to the rise of productivity in the aforementioned economic activities, with a considerable impact for the quick growth of the albanian economy. the domestic economy is noticeably improved over the last decade and the progress made over an expanded period of these last years reflects a positive and relatively stable macroeconomic environment. the growth rhythms of real gdp, are assessed as plausible, and in general higher compared to the other countries of the region. the consumer price level as well, has resulted in compliance with the target of the central bank for the price stability. “ the calmness ” of the external factors that struck the supply reaction and the domestic macroeconomic stability, provided the inflation rate be normalised within the targeted limits. the developments occurring in the exchange rate already are perceived as stable compared to its high fluctuations characterising the ’ 90s. in the

gent sejko : seventh review of the arrangement with the imf concluded speech by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the joint press conference with the imf mission and the minister of finance, tirana, 22 march 2016. * * * in accordance with the agreed agenda, during the last two weeks, we have held intensive talks with the imf mission, which focused on the review of the arrangement with the imf. also, in the framework of article iv discussions, talks focused on identifying those structural problems that hamper economic development in albania. the review concluded that economic indicators and macro - economic policies have been in line with our projections and commitments, despite the challenges facing the albanian economy during this period. moreover, article iv discussions noted the need for accelerating structural reforms, which should pave the way for faster and steadier development. let me now present a summarized opinion of the bank of albania on the country ’ s economic performance and the policies we have implemented and should continue to implement in the future. the albanian economy continues to be on a positive development trajectory. economic growth accelerated during 2015, driven by the expansion of investments and improvement of the balance of trade with abroad. private consumption showed signs of recovery in the second half of the year, whereas public consumption remained limited, in accordance with the fiscal consolidation strategy. during this period, economic activity expanded, among others, thanks to the monetary policy and supervisory and regulatory measures by the bank of albania. our accommodative monetary policy stance has contributed to lowering interest rates further down, mitigating liquidity pressures and maintaining the confidence of financial markets in price stability. in parallel, our supervisory and regulatory measures have contributed to reducing non - performing loans and improving the financial soundness of the banking sector. these developments are a prerequisite for sustainable crediting to the economy in the future. inflation remains at low levels, below our target. this performance has reflected the unutilized production capacities in the albanian economy, and the disinflationary tendencies arising from trade exchanges with abroad. in particular, over the first two months of 2016, inflation dropped, descending to 0. 2 % in february. our analyses suggest that it dropped due to external factors, namely the pronounced fall in food and oil prices in global markets. as such, the rapid drop in inflation and its low levels represent a supply shock to the albanian economy, rather than a disinflationary situation, which