PRESS RELEASE
Governor Seiko attends the 2023 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group

On 12-15 October 2023, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, attended the 2023 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), which took place in Marrakech, Morocco.

These meetings represent a high level forum which brings together the most senior decision-makers of the IMF and the WBG, governors and ministers of finance of the member countries in these international financial institutions, to discuss issues of global concern.

In its Communiqué, the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee states that: The global economy has been resilient, with the 2023 growth outlook slightly upgraded since the Spring. But the recovery has been uneven, as activity in many economies remains well below pre-pandemic trends and divergences across countries are rising.  Medium-term global growth projections remain weak. Global headline inflation has declined, although in some countries remains well above target. Core inflation has proven more persistent than expected. Thanks to the decisive actions taken in early 2023 to contain financial turbulence, near-term risks are more balanced, but remain tilted to the downside. The war in Ukraine, elevated debt vulnerabilities, tightening of financial conditions, the intensifying climate shocks, rising inequality, refugees and displaced people, food insecurity, and risk of fragmentation remain concerns for the global economy, affecting vulnerable countries and people the most.

Bank of Albania was represented in the 2023 Annual Meetings by a delegation headed by Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, the First Deputy Governor, Ms Luljeta Minxhozi and other senior officials.

During the 2023 Annual Meetings, Governor Sejko had several important meetings with prominent personalities of international finance. Amongst others, from the IMF: Mr Federico Giammusso, Executive Director for Albania; Mr Alfred Kammer, Director of the European Department; Mr Miguel Savastano, Deputy Director in the Monetary and Capital Markets; from the WBG: Ms Antonella Bassani, Vice President of the Europe and Central Asia Region; Mr Alfonso Garcia Mora, IFC's Vice President for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean; Mr Matteo Bugamelli, Executive Director for Albania.

In these meetings, Governor Sejko introduced to the representatives of the IMF and the WB an overview on the latest developments in the Albanian economy. The Governor stated that Albania, likewise other countries, was affected by the adverse global economic shocks. Inflation started to pick up by the end of 2021, accelerated fast at the outbreak of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, peaked in October 2022 and started to decelerate gradually thereafter.

Mr Sejko added that the Bank of Albania - for guaranteeing the monetary and financial stability of the country - embarked on a monetary policy normalization drive, starting from March 2022. The normalisation was achieved through increasing the base rate from a minimum of 0.50% at the beginning of 2022, to 3.00% as of March 2023.

In this light, Governor Sejko highlighted that the implemented policy was fully data-driven, transparent and efficiently communicated to local stakeholders. He added that, the current policy rate level in Albania is comparatively low compared to both the region and the EU, reflecting a lower overall inflation rate. Meanwhile, forecasts point to a gradual reduction of inflation, with a return to our 3% target expected by mid-2024.

Regarding macroeconomic policies, Mr Sejko emphasised that they will remain harmonized and work in tandem to ensure a stable growth in the medium term.

Related to the interest of the IMF&WB representatives on the exposure of the Albanian banking system, Governor Sejko explained that financial system has shown remarkable resilience, owing to prior reform drives that have improved the regulatory framework and reduced vulnerabilities.

The representatives of the IMF and the WBG encouraged the continuous monitoring of the bank credit risk, the exchange rate risk and the interest rate risk.

They commented the positive role and policy implemented by the Bank of Albania, particularly noting the importance of inflation return to the target and the advantages arising from the strengthening of the domestic currency.  Last, they concurred that the harmonisation and coordination of policies, both in national and international levels, is a precondition to ensure an optimum environment for a sustainably economy.

Governor Sejko and the representatives of the IMF and WB pointed out to the need and importance of the excellent collaboration among our institutions. In this view, the interlocutors strongly support the continuation of the technical assistance in the future.

Also, Governor Sejko, had an important meeting with the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, Mr Piero Cipollone. The focus of discussions in this meeting was mainly on the developments of payment systems, innovation in technology, as well as the related challenges. The Bank of Albania is closely cooperating with the World Bank and Banca d'Italia for the further development of the payment system, to offer real-time payments, with a higher security, lower cost for citizens and to fully meet the legal and regulatory requirements of SEPA.

For years now, concrete steps have been taken and developed to fulfil this objective aimed at the harmonisation with the European practices in the framework of the EU integration process of Albania. The Bank of Albania pays special attention to the reforms and further steps that must be taken in the context of the country's integration, giving its continuous contribution to this process, through the alignment of legislation in the fields of the payment systems, monetary policy, banking supervision, etc.

The delegation had the opportunity to meet with counterparts from a number of countries discussing on the further development of bilateral relations aiming at providing technical assistance on specific issues to the Bank of Albania.

In the framework of these meetings, the Governor and the representatives of the Bank of Albania attended the plenary session of the IMFs’ International Monetary and Financial Committee; the plenary session of the IMF and the WB Annual Meetings, as well as the G30 seminar proceedings.

Also, Governor Sejko was invited to the working breakfast with the Ministers of Finance and the Central Bank Governors, organised by Mr Alfred Kammer, Director of the European Department at the IMF. In this meeting the Governor introduced the macro-economic developments in Albania, the main sectors for the country’s growth, and the potential of Albania to foreign investors.

• Governor Sejko: Statement to the IMF and WBG Annual Meetings