The Governor of the Bank of Albania Gent Sejko received in a meeting the Governor of the National Bank of Croatia, Boris Vujcic.

During the meeting, Governor Sejko stated that despite the challenging situations, the Albanian economy has continued to grow and make progress in almost all indicators of economic and financial stability, the Bank of Albania said in a press release.

In particular, inflation is already close to the Bank of Albania's target and has consistently remained among the lowest levels in the region. Likewise, the banking sector appears with solid activity parameters, enjoys healthy financial balances and high resistance to potential shocks, and is increasingly supplying the Albanian economy with loans.

In this context, the Governor emphasized that the Bank of Albania has made a significant contribution to this picture of developments, through its prudent monetary policy, rigorous regulation, and continuous supervision of the banking sector, as well as promoting the development of financial markets and systems of payments. This institutional investment has provided the Albanian economy with satisfactory monetary and financial stability.

In a longer-term plan, the inflation targeting regime and the free exchange rate regime have worked best and helped the country withstand shocks and accelerate the convergence process. Also, Governor Sejko estimated that fiscal consolidation and convergence between macroeconomic policies remain determining factors in the development of the countries of the region.

For his part, Governor Vujcic assessed that the ability of the countries of the Western Balkans region - and especially Albania - to cope with crises has been impressive. He emphasized that these encouraging developments provide a solid platform for economic growth and the convergence process with the European Union.

The two Governors underlined that most of the countries in the region, including Albania, are economically connected to the Eurozone and are financially exposed to it. Economic cycles are synchronized with those of the Eurozone and financial systems have a high degree of integration and dependence on the monetary, supervisory, and regulatory policies followed in the Eurozone. Appreciating the progress made so far, Governor Vujcic emphasized the importance of continuous dialogue between economic regulators and offered the Bank of Croatia's support for raising this dialogue to a higher level.

As part of this official visit, the Bank of Albania also organized a round table with representatives of the banking system and senior managers of the Bank of Albania, where the latest economic developments, inflation in the region and the EU, euroization of the economy and the challenges it brings were discussed it, as well as other important issues for the banking system such as the supervisory and regulatory measures imposed by the European Central Bank and the modernization of payment systems.