This year’s summit under the title “Monetary Policy in an inflationary environment” addressed the latest developments in the region’s economies and the current challenge facing them amid the soaring prices in the world markets. This blow has not spared any economy, not only at the European level but also at the world level.

The panel of governors in which Sejko was invited to deliver a speech focused the discussions on the monetary policies pursued by the central banks of the region and the orientations of economic policies towards maintaining price stability, as a prerequisite for financial stability of countries.
At the beginning of his speech, Governor Sejko underlined that despite the subsequent shocks in recent years, the Albanian economy has continued to expand at a satisfactory pace. Even this year, although the challenges ahead will be considerable, the outlook is positive and economic growth is expected to hover around 4%, while in the upcoming years growth is expected to slow down to 2-3%.

Regarding the monetary policy of the region, the Governor emphasized that it is influenced to some extent by the approach adopted by the central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

Like all central banks in the world, the countries of our region are coping with the challenge of high inflation. He argued that central banks can effectively anchor inflation expectations by clearly communicating their decisions, using a credible monetary policy framework and protecting their independence.

Governor Sejko emphasized that the priority of the central bank is to maintain monetary and financial stability. This translates into keeping inflation under control in a stable and timely manner, limiting as much as possible the cost of economic activity and the balance sheets of the banking sector. Achieving this requires a delicate balancing act between different objectives in a period of uncertainty.

The Governor of the Bank of Albania answered the questions of the participants, such as the issue of the exchange rate in our country and the performance of the local currency. Regarding this, the Governor first emphasized that we have a free exchange rate regime, so it is completely determined by market demand and supply.

He stated that the strengthening of the local currency has so far been directly related to seasonal factors, such as the impact of tourism and the increase in exports.

“The main factor in strengthening of the local currency is tourism, but also the trade balance, exports have increased, both those of goods and services. These inflows of foreign currency, mainly in euros, have kept the exchange rate overvalued in favor of the lek,” he said.
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