Tirana Times
TIRANA, May 21 – Albania’s economy will grow by 2.3% in 2010, Johan Mathisen economist of European Department for Regional Policies and Studies at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a press conference in Tirana.
“Albania is among the few countries in the world that registered economic growth during 2009, while for this year the economic growth is forecast at 2.3%”, Mathisen said.
The economic growth will continue in 2011 with 3.3%, but prudent fiscal policies are urged by the government, said the IMF economist, adding that Albania will be able to achieve sustainable economic growth only if it successfully meets the challenge of attracting foreign investments.
As Albania is trying to emit its first Eurobond, the IMF official said the management of public debt is a key factor in the assessment of investors.
“Management of capital inflows requires flexible macroeconomic policies and improvement of the resistance of the financial sector through prudent policies and strengthening cross-border financial stability,” the IMF expert said.
According to Mathisen, Albania has been less affected by economic compared to other regional countries because of managing to avoid excessive capital flows.
Managing capital inflows remains a crucial challenge across all emerging Europe, with
policymakers asking how to ensure a healthy level of foreign investment, how to prevent excesses, and how to improve the stability of an increasingly integrated international financial sector, says IMF in its regional economic outlook survey.
The Albanian economy saw a significant decline in its growth rate in 2009, from 7.9 per cent in 2008 to an estimated 3.3 per cent in 2009, but remained one of the few European economies which did not suffer a recession.
