PRESS RELEASE
Questions & answers of the Governor’s Press Conference, 27.11.2013

Question- A question about the International Monetary Fund’s mission expected to come next week to push ahead with the signing of the cooperation agreement with the Albanian government. What is your opinion about the nature and conditions of the cooperation of the Albanian government in particular and Albanian institutions in general in this IMF agreement?

Answer- Before answering to this question, first of all I would like to thank you for your highly positive, accurate and transparent response to assessments published by Moody’s, the international rating agency, about the Albanian economy and the Bank of Albania in particular. I deem that this assessment is a very good omen, showing not only the stability of our economy and the efficiency of Bank of Albania’s monetary policy, but also promising a better economic climate for the future.

Returning to the issue of signing the IMF agreement, taking into account your interest in it, I have prepared a material, which the written media will publish in the days to come. It is a theoretical and practical approach to the IMF agreement and helps the public better understand this issue. The Bank of Albania and I, personally, have recently expressed the need for an IMF agreement with the IMF. It is very important not to stigmatize IMF agreements, since in the last 20 years we have had several successful agreements with the IMF. 

The IMF, World Bank and the public have actually reinforced the opinion that the weight of the Albanian party has heavily increased in the possession of these agreements. On the other hand, previous agreements have been a sound basis in bringing Albanian economy to a competitive status, providing it with all the possibilities to implement structural reforms, which make Albania better protected against the recent global crisis. 

Under these circumstances, I think that an agreement with the IMF is indispensable. Naturally, during these years, the IMF has further matured regarding its approach to global economy in general, and to developing economies and countries hoping EU accession in particular. Naturally, our country has benefited from past experience, when IMF programmes were a lesson for carrying out structural reforms in Albania.

It is worth mentioning that it is Albania the one that is addressing itself to entering into an agreement with the IMF, this is the core of the issue; it is not the IMF, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, or the troika coming to Albania. It is just us requesting this agreement and this is a very positive signal.

The IMF presence is of crucial importance, while the Albanian economy needs adjustment and is going toward it. But it should not go toward an adjustment that brings about constraints. Regarding this, I think that the IMF knows how to adapt better to the problems of our economy, which on the one hand needs adjustment, and on the other needs utilisation of its capacity to ensure economic growth.

Under these conditions, we would benefit low-cost funds from the IMF and would establish the basis for ongoing, important, deep structural reforms that guarantee Albania’s macro-financial stability in the short run. By taking these measures we would make more room to the Albanian economy for economic growth and employment. We propose a flexible agreement, which would guarantee economic growth and long-term employment. In light of this, I think that the IMF would be our advocate in the domestic and foreign markets, not only in closing this year’s budget and next year’s budget, but also in the medium run. This would provide necessary guarantees to the Albanian economy to have sound bases, as an economy that is passing from the developing state to real convergence with the European Union. Against this background, the macro-financial stability is very important. The IMF and the World Bank would be present not only with supportive funds for solving short-term problems, but also for addressing them in the medium run and long run, in order to provide broader sustainability to the Albanian economy over the next 20 years.