BANK OF ALBANIA

PRESS RELEASE
Bank of Albania and the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) sign a Memorandum of Understanding

Publication date: 01.03.2019

 

On 1 March 2019, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Bank of Albania signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the second phase of the Bilateral Assistance and Capacity Building Program for central banks for 2018-2022, at the premises of the Bank of Albania.

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The Memorandum was signed by the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Sejko and H.E. Swiss Ambassador in Albania, Mr Adrian Maître.

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In his speech, Governor Sejko said that the signing of this agreement follows the conclusion of a very successful cooperation in the period 2013-2018, which improved significantly the Bank of Albania's analytical, research and technical capacities. In this context, the Governor highlighted that the results of this cooperation project were fruitful in the field of monetary policy implementation, banking supervision, financial stability and payment systems.  

Governor Sejko thanked the Swiss Government for this collaboration and stated that the new agreement will enable the Bank of Albania to be part of the bilateral assistance and capacity building program for central banks. “Expected outcomes from the implementation of the second phase include: monetary policy decision making sustained by improved forecasting capacities, macro-prudential policy formulated based on a larger body of knowledge about various risks; and research further enriched with the best research methodologies and practices. These goals form the core of our medium-term strategy. ” -Governor Sejko said.

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Ambassador Maître pointed out that this has been a successful cooperation and added that it is important for such cooperation to continue. He stressed that “Albania needs effective institutions in all areas and on all levels. I consider the Bank of Albania to be such an institution. I can ensure you that providing capacity building to Bank of Albania has been a very rewarding activity because of the highly professional human resources you have in this institution. With no doubt, Bank of Albania has been an excellent, active and committed partner in this collaboration”. Furthermore, Ambassador Maître said that the Memorandum of Understanding opens the way for more knowledge, expertise and exchanges.

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The new program will be implemented through expert missions, on-line courses, technical workshops and study visits.  It will cover fields such as human resources management, business continuity in time of crises, and communication of research.

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* The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is the centre of expertise of the Swiss federal government, which examines all the main issues related to economic policies and labour market. SECO’s aim is to contribute to sustained economic growth, high employment and fair working conditions, by creating the necessary regulatory, economic and foreign policy framework. Since 1992, SECO has been providing support to central banks in partner countries, based on increasing demands for technical assistance in the field of central banking, through a strategic co-operation with the Graduate Institute of International Development Studies. Collaboration with some central banks consists of general advisory services and country-specific activities, in the form of Technical Assistance and Training Programs (TATPs).

 

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