Regional cooperation- priority of annual Bank of Albania conference

TIRANA, Oct.30-31 – “Regional financial market and financial stability – a concept between national sovereignty and globalization” was the title of the seventh annual conference organized by BoA in Tirana. The topic of this conference revolved around the discussion of financial stability in the face of new challenges raised by the latest development trends in the region. The final panel gathered in a round table the Governors of Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and the representative of Kosova’s central Banking Authority. Their discussion focused on the regional cooperation potential in the financial field.
Ardian Fullani, central Bank of Albania Governor, emphasized some of the key points related to financial stability. He examined its nature as a “common good” and the role of central banks as a provider of this good. Fullani said that a stable financial system should simultaneously fulfill three conditions: “First to realize efficiently the allocation of economic resources in time. Second to diagnose and manage the financial risks. Third to be able to absorb the surprising changes and dangers which come for the real economic field.” Fullani focused on the regional stability as an important aspect of stability in general. He welcomed this new open gate of collaboration that started with the conference.
The conference featured six interesting discussion panels separated according to their topic. The participants included representatives from the highest European and global financial institutions such as the IMF, the WB and the EU Commission. Istvan Szekely, on his IMF mission trip, gave a discussion on the peculiarities of the Albanian case taken in the larger context of European policies on the region. The guest of honor for this session was Lorenzo Bin Smaghi, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank. His speech was based upon three thematic pillars: financial integration in south-eastern Europe, monetary and macroeconomic policy challenges and finally financial stability challenges. His comparative approach brought an innovative angle to the discussion. Antonio de Lecea from the European Commission gave a speech on “Prospective EU membership – catalyst for financial integration in the South-East European region.” The first part of his lecture was in relation to the major global forces that have worked pro European financial market integration. Then he focused on the relevance of this topic to the region of South Eastern Europe and its future potential.
In the second day of the conference, Fullani awarded the prizes for the best diploma, given to the best graduating thesis in relation to the Bank of Albania. The first prize was given to Gizelda Emini student in the University of Tirana; the second to Arb철Bori詬 student of the University of New York in Tirana, and the third to Lorena Gega, student of the University of Tirana.