PRESS RELEASE
Seminar organised by the Bank of Albania in co-operation with the University of Oxford

The Bank of Albania, in cooperation with the University of Oxford, organised on 21 June 2011 a high-level seminar on 'Current economic challenges and regional Co-operation in Southeast Europe'.

The seminar brought together high-level participants from academia in Albania, the region and beyond, representatives from the banking system, state agencies, international organisations operating in Albania, and the Bank of Albania. Organised in the framework of the Co-operation Agreement between the Bank of Albania and University of Oxford signed in September 2010, this seminar is an item in the agenda of the Bank of Albania to be an active actor in co-operation initiatives in Southeast Europe.

The seminar addressed the following key topics:

• identifying and analysing key economic challenges in fostering sustainable growth in the region;
• identifying the scope for and degree of intensified regional co-operation;
• exploring the role of institutions and external anchors in advancing regional co-operation.

In his speech, the Governor of the Bank of Albania Ardian Fullani focused on identifying short- and long-term opportunities for economic growth and welfare in Southeast Europe. The latest global crisis showed that economic models, which rely mainly on debt and domestic demand, are not sustainable. Therefore, the countries of the region need to focus, in a co-ordinated way, on identifying economic priorities and strategies in the future in order to guarantee macrofinancial stability and sustainable growth.

Most immediate challenges, including the long-term ones, remain enhancement of competitiveness and productivity of the region's economies. The future of our economies rests with the market institutions. Hence, structural reforms need to aim at factors such as business climate, competitiveness of output factors, enhancement of the labour market, expansion and deepening of the financial market as well as a number of other components that would generate sustainable growth and employment. In order to be more competitive globally, as a region, the philosophy of growth should be based on capacity building and regional co-operation, by efficiently using regional output factors to boost investments and development in the region.

Since economies in Southeast Europe have similar economic structures and share their trade partners, pursuing individual strategies would trigger competition within the region leading to suboptimal profit for each individual country. To prevent a zero sum game, we need to balance out individual advantages and disadvantages and focus on co-operation strategies through co-ordination. Central banks continue to provide their contribution in this regard. The Bank of Albania remains committed not only to guarantee stability requisites for a profitable economic activity, but also to promote co-operation with the region's central banks and other actors in the country and abroad in the framework of the debate and recommendations for a regional model of sustainable economic growth.

In September 2010, the Bank of Albania concluded a co-operation agreement with the University of Oxford. The scope of this co-operation is to conduct research studies to promote and deepen knowledge on economy policies and challenges of Albania and the region, to assess political opportunities for sustainable economic growth in the region, and the EU integration process.