PRESS RELEASE
Governor Sejko attends the International Scientific Conference on " Economic Cooperation: Challenges and Perspectives among Kosovo, Albania and the region", held in Pristina

On 5-6 October 2023, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, had an official visit at the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, as the Governor participated in the International Scientific Conference on "Economic Cooperation: Challenges and Perspectives among Kosovo, Albania and the region", organized in Pristina, by the Academy of Sciences and of Arts of Kosovo (ASAK) and the Academy of Sciences of Albania (ASA).

On the first day of his visit, Governor Sejko met with the new appointed Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr Ahmet Ismaili, in the CBK premises. Mr Sejko commended Governor Ismaili on his new position, by reconfirming the cooperation and support of the Bank of Albania.

Discussions in this meeting focused on the experiences shared between the two institutions and the close and fruitful cooperation, mainly in the framework of organizing joint visits between the staff of the CBK and the BoA.

The governors also highlighted the importance of the Regional Memorandum of Cooperation on Corporate Governance of Banks, signed in 2019 by the BoA and the CBK, together with the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia, the Central Bank of Montenegro, the Central Bank of Bosnia-Herzegovina, aimed at the continuous cooperation of the parties in the fields of supervision, research and decision-making, related to the indicators of corporate governance of banks across the region. Governor Sejko emphasised that the Bank of Albania will put the maximum efforts for the cooperation in the framework of this Memorandum to be concrete and have a direct impact.

Governor Sejko and Governor Ismaili concurred that the ties between the two institutions will continue to be stable and successful as the cooperation will be further expanded in the financial sector, including also joint activities in the framework of financial education.

On the second day of the visit, Governor Sejko attended the International Scientific Conference, organized by the academies of the two countries, to address the perspectives and challenges of the monetary and financial development in Albania and Kosovo. The proceedings of the Conference were opened by the welcoming remarks of Accad. Justina Shiroka-Pula, University of Pristina, Prof. Dr. Anastas Angjeli, Accad. Mehmet Kraja, Head of Kosovo's Academy of Arts and Science, Accad. Mr. Skënder Gjinushi,  President of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, Mrs. Arbërie Nagavci, Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr Jeton Shaqiri, Minister of Education and Science in North Macedonia, etc.

The Governor participated in the first panel of the Conference and provided his comments on "Perspectives and challenges concerning the monetary and financial development as well as the economic integration for the economic cooperation between Albania and Kosovo, in the framework of regional integration".

Mr Sejko stated that the economies of both countries have a relatively similar structure of organizing the private sector, as well as of the financial systems in terms of the nature and stage of their development, dominated mainly by banks, which have played an important role regarding the economic development of the countries. Meanwhile, productivity and competitiveness as well as their small size compared to the economy of the euro area have been and remain the main challenges for both economies.

Governor Sejko added that in order to progress further towards the European perspective, both regional cooperation and that between our two countries play a crucial role aimed at overcoming challenges, in addition to the continuation of structural reforms. In this regard, Albania and Kosovo have strengthened their bilateral cooperation by signing a set of intergovernmental agreements.

The challenges of the future are affected by the demographic developments, education and financial inclusion, climate and environmental developments, green finance, as well as by the rapid digitalization of finance and money, which are considered key elements for a sustainable development. Financial inclusion and financial education are important objectives for the present and the future.

In the context of progressing towards the European Union, the Governor underscored the importance of having a complete economic and financial integration between the two countries.

Concluding, Mr Sejko stated that the cooperation in the fields of monetary policy, banking supervision, financial stability, payment systems, etc. between Albania and Kosovo can help bolster the financial stability in the region.

"In addition, the cooperation between the two central banks should extend further regarding the research and analysis, as well as in promoting common products and strategies in the fields of central banking, especially in terms of future global challenges, as well as for the faster convergence towards the EU," said Governor Sejko.