PRESS RELEASE
Bank of Albania organises 13th SEE Economic Research Workshop

On 5-6 December 2019, the Bank of Albania organized the 13th SEE Economic Research Workshop. For the past 13 years, this workshop has served as a discussion forum on the latest research on economic and financial issues and has promoted the exchange of views among researchers from the Bank of Albania, other central bankers, academia, and scholars and policy-makers in the region and beyond.

This year’s workshop focuses on the developments of the external sector and financial stability, as well as on their implications for central banks and the economy.  In line with our tradition, it is open to multidisciplinary research and will present theoretical and empirical contributions on issues related to central banking.  During the two-day-workshop, 26 research papers will be presented and discussed, of which eight are authored by Bank of Albania staff members.

The workshop proceedings were opened by Gent Sejko, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, and the Swiss Ambassador in Albania, H.E. Adrian Maître.

Governor Sejko said that all the topics that will be discussed during the two days of the workshop such as the monetary policy, financial stability and new methodologies in these areas are all very present in the daily activity of the central bank and are designed to help the analysis, decision making and implementation of the monetary policy and financial stability.

He emphasized that this workshop has become a cherished tradition for the Bank of Albania and central banks of the SEE region and it continues to generate interest beyond the SEE region and central banking community. This year, the list of participants has expanded to include speakers from central banks, academic and financial institutions, national and international, in the EU, the US and South-Eastern Asia.

The Governor added that beyond traditional topics, this year the workshop will also discuss research in innovative and important areas, such as: digitalization of financial services, structural reforms, health care and macroeconomics and its implications for central bank objectives and national welfare. Technological developments as well as demographic developments pose some of the most important challenges to our societies and institutions. Therefore, it is important to study and adequately understand these phenomena. In view of recent events, the Governor emphasized that in the future, the Bank of Albania's research will deepen its study on the potential implications from natural disasters on financial stability, and the economy in general.

The Swiss Ambassador to Albania, H.E. Adrian Maître, praised the work of the Bank of Albania as well as the cooperation with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Bilateral Assistance and Capacity Building for Central Banks Program (BCC) for supporting the research activity at the Bank of Albania.

In his speech, Ambassador Maître discussed about some of marks and core principles for an effective institution such as: a clear mandate and independence while implementing it; Professionalism and legitimate leadership; Result-based management; Integrity and accountability toward parliament and the public; Cooperation and capacity development. He stressed that it is very interesting to exchange ideas and experiences in the regional context in this regard.

Concluding, he said that, so far, cooperation with the Bank of Albania has been very fruitful and will continue in the future in order to continuously enhance research methodologies and products.

Governor Sejko thanked the participants for their contribution to broadening and enriching the network of experts and their help to improve research work and findings, making them more useful and valuable for the Bank of Albania.