TIRANA (Albania), May 17 (SeeNews) – The Albanian government should advance structural reforms in order to improve the overall functioning of the economy, the country's central bank governor Gent Sejko said on Thursday.
Further improvement of the business climate is one of the key issues to be addressed in future structural reforms, Sejko said in a presentation of the central bank’s 2017 annual report in parliament.
The improvement of business climate is essential for attracting foreign investment and boosting domestic investment, Sejko added.
The promotion of Albanian products, regional integration, and acceleration of the European integration process are also important issues to be addressed in future reforms.
Sejko also said that further investment in infrastructure, education and health and increase of the participation rate in the labour force as well as improvement of business administration standards will increase the efficiency of the economy.
The reforms should focus on encouraging the restructuring of enterprises, improving the architecture of the financial system, as well as increasing the attention to public and private debt indicators in order to increase the flexibility and resistance of the economy, Sejko pointed out.
He also said that reforms aim at expanding and diversifying the financial markets.
“The development and diversification of financial markets improves access to finance,” Sejko said.
Albania’s economy grew by 3.8% in 2017, up from 2.2% and 3.4% growth rates recorded in 2015 and 2016, respectively, according to the statistical office, INSTAT.
The economic growth was supported by increased consumption, investments and exports, Sejko said, adding that the best performing sectors were services and industry, whereas the tourism sector also gave a positive contribution to economic growth in 2017.