Complimentary speech held by Mr.Shkëlqim Cani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, 4th International Conference of the Bank of Albania, Saranda, September 11-12, 2003.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am really glad to greet the honorable guests of this conference, friends and colleagues of mine, those who have continuously assisted in our previous conferences and those participating for the first time this year. It is a great pleasure for me, that in the name of the organizers of the conference "Albanian economy: Performance and policy challenges", to express gratitude and respect to the dear friends of Albania and Albanians, who are present here today and who have contributed and have marked the performance of our economy. I do hope that such meetings also serve as public deeds, delivering a message of gratitude for those contributions, which in a certain way have helped the Bank of Albania in organizing scientific-thinking events regarding subject matters that focus on the Albanian economy.

Dear colleagues and collaborators,

In these 13 years, Albania has been "on track" of progress. The economy is finally development-oriented. As actors of our times, we all are inclined towards the best, towards the future. Living in a society that is trying to build up a safer future; having institutions that tend to establish outstanding models; establishing a democratic popular mentality oriented towards a positive attitude of a variety of ideas, is a success for the country and for the economy. The Albanian society, state and mentality have in overall evolved simultaneously. Maybe this is related to our early tradition; maybe imposed by the challenges of our survival through the years; maybe this is related to our greatest desire to see our country and ourselves among the most developed. One thing is for sure: that progress relies on an economy that is developing. Nevertheless, this speech does not focus on how much and in what way the Albanian economy has grown, what its directions have been and how often it has got stuck. What I would like to underline, is that the Albanian economy has recorded significant and tangible growth, evident to everyone. This growth has is becoming a strong support to our future projects and challenges. This growth strengthens the belief that all of us are trying to give ourselves and our country the best offered by the current development, and that we really do deserve more.

In order to win ever more, one should really try hard; should use efficiently what he has earned and at the end should also have the generosity to leave something to the other generations. Thus, one may ensure the development track. We have already laid the foundations of an overall economic development. Whether this development is rapid or slow, secure or fragile, peaceful or full of wonders is another issue. What matters is the fact that we have planned for our economy an ambitious future. Attaining this requires many efforts; requires a clear economic vision; requires courageous decision-making; requires a wide vision while treating problems and
real strategies for economic development. And this is what I would most expect from this conference.

My dear friends,
We are gathered here today to speak about an argument that is not unknown to every one of us. What we are going to say, the way we are going to approach the future of our problems, and the real chances for further progress, all of these, I am sure will be useful. Together with our co-organizers of the Economics Faculty, University of Tirana, have tried our best to achieve this. Therefore, I would like for this Conference to further serve the mutual economic co-operation and development. Upon concluding my speech, with the hope to have transmitted all my gratitude to your presence here, I would like to extend my very best wishes to this conference, success to the honorable speakers, and an enjoyable stay in the beautiful city of Saranda to all of us.

Thank you!