PRESS RELEASE
On the visit of the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Ardian Fullani, to the European Central Bank

The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Ardian Fullani, visited the European Central Bank (ECB) on 20 July 2005. He met with Mr. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the ECB, and Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Member of the ECB's Executive Board in charge of International and European Relations.

Governor Fullani expressed to President Trichet his sincere thanks for the warm hospitality, for the good relationships and the fruitful cooperation between Bank of Albania and European Central Bank. During the meetings Mr. Fullani presented an overview on the recent developments of the Albanian economy, with an emphasis on monetary developments, on inflation performance and the objective of keeping inflation under control, inflation targeting and on the latest financial and banking sector developments, as well as the challenges the Bank of Albania is facing. Moreover, he informed about the initiative taken on establishing more cooperation and understanding among central banks of the South-eastern European region.

Mr. Fullani esteemed the particular interest shown by the European Central Bank in the regional developments and its intention to establish stable relationships with the region's countries.

At the end of the meeting, President Trichet expressed the willingness of the ECB and the Eurosystem to further enhance the technical cooperation with the Bank of Albania.