Honorable Members of Parliament,

My Lords,

Distinguished Ministers,

Mr. Vice President of the EBRD,

Excellencies and colleagues of the diplomatic corps,

Dear delegates in the First UK Albania Investment forum

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me first say how delighted I am to host and to open the First UK Albania Investment Forum here in London, the hub of global investment, a city vibrating with the dynamism of finance and business, a city that reflects a wonderful cosmopolitanism, multiculturalism, diversity and a fine combination of Englishness and Europeanism, that reflects a rich history and culture and a great tradition of an extremely successful people, country, Empire and world democracy. I am privileged to work here.

It is not infrequent to meet people who have little or no knowledge of Albania and what Albania looks like today. I wouldn’t be surprised if they may have an outdated perception of the situation and of the things we in Albania have achieved and want to achieve in the future.
I am particularly delighted to see so much interest in attending this Forum. I most sincerely thank you for attending the Forum, the main purpose of which is to try to promote inward investment to Albania. It is becoming more and more visible in the media that Albania is today a very interesting and attractive destination. What we are trying to do is to say that opportunities do exist there and conditions are right to seriously consider moving in with investment. Albania, its institutions, its business community, and the Albanian people are prepared and ready to work with you and with the rest of the world. The UK and London are extremely important for us in that regard.
I therefore see this Forum as an excellent opportunity to show that Albania has come a long way and to give a serious briefing about the country, as it is now, the transformations that have taken place, the vision and prospects for its future, and how we can include the British and international business, and the Albanian diaspora, into that vision. It is for that reason that four main pillars of economic development of the country have been chosen as topics for this first Forum: a) situation in finance and the banking system, b) the economy, energy and mining, c) transport and communications and, c) tourism and business services. I wish to thank the distinguished ministers from Albania and their high ranking collaborators, as well as the Governor of the Bank of Albania, for their high profile presence here. It would be a very good opportunity, I think, for potential investors from the United Kingdom and elsewhere to hear what is taking place and what is being open for investment in these vital sectors in Albania.

We are glad to note that there is an ever greater appreciation from international organizations and many countries, including the host country UK, and a number of business representatives active in Albania, about our general efforts, progress and our commitment in moving ahead with reforms, change and development in the country.

Indeed multilateral organizations are impressed at Albanian authorities’ commitment to sound macroeconomic and well?anchored structural reforms. To illustrate, let me quote what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said: “Thanks to generally prudent policies, Albania’s economy largely passed a demanding test in 2007, despite challenges from a difficult external environment. Growth improved and inflation expectations remained low, notwithstanding a drought and rising food and energy prices. Prudent fiscal and monetary policies were key in this regard, while ongoing structural reform is reaping rewards from improved competitiveness.” Whilst the World Bank Group commented: “Albania’s record since it embarked on its transition in the early 1990s has been impressive. The country has successfully built the foundations of market?based economy, created democratic institutions and gradually built capacity in the public administration to cope with political and economic transformation. These efforts have resulted in a track record of macroeconomic stability, as well as achievement of the fastest rates of GDP growth in South Eastern Europe.”

Our objectives are clear, our plans are clear, our determination is there. In this Forum, we are not asking for any commitment. We are actually sharing our commitment to the targets we have set and to this respectable audience of our resolve. Utmost ingenuity will be displayed and imagination evoked from large number of competent people, diligent companies and very business?minded individuals, a number of whom are here today, to ensure that we will make it. We are aware also that international cooperation, in particular from developed countries, strong economies and international financial institutions, would be required. We are hopeful