PRESS RELEASE
Cooperation agreement between the Bank of Albania and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

On 18 October 2013, the Bank of Albania signed a cooperation agreement with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The agreement was signed by Mr. Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania and Ambassador Beatrice Maser, Head of Economic Cooperation and Development at the SECO, during the proceedings of the conference on “Setting up the Monetary Policy Framework: What role for Financial Sector Considerations?”.

The conference took place in Geneva, Switzerland on 17-18 October 2013. The purpose of the conference was to share recent research work and policy experience among the central banks involved in the program, academics, and policy makers from other institutions. The conference was part of Bilateral Assistance and Capacity Building for Central Banks programme. Mr. Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, contributed to the conference as a speaker at the third panel on how to handle policy in crises and unusual times.

The signing of this agreement with the SECO makes the Bank of Albania a formal participant in the Bilateral Assistance and Capacity Building for Central Banks (BCC) programme. The purpose of this programme is to provide technical assistance to the Bank of Albania for improving inflation forecasting quality and monetary policy decision-making, fostering development of efficient financial markets, and developing a modern human resource management system. The duration of the agreement is three years (2013 – 2016).

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is the federal government's centre of expertise for all core issues relating to economic policy. Its aim is to ensure sustainable economic growth by putting in place the necessary regulatory and economic policy conditions. Based on increasing requests for technical assistance in central banking since 1992, the SECO has been providing support to the national central banks of its partner countries through a strategic partnership with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The cooperation with some national central banks consists in providing general consultancy services and specific activities tailored to the country context in the form of Technical Assistance and Training Programs (TATPs).