In conclusion, I would like to bring another matter of concern to your attention. While preparing for this meeting, we faced difficulties in finding useful statistical information on the demographic and economic activity of Fier district. Taking into account the opportunities it has to offer, the reported statistics do not make this district distinguishable or comparable to the other regions inside or outside Albania. It would be of interest, for instance, to have detailed information on the free capacities in agriculture and industry; average profitability; non-utilized labour market resources, the level of education and human capital; unit labour costs, and capital and final product cost per unit;  4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  prices of other factors of production, and so on. The lack of these indicators makes it hard, and even impossible, to evaluate and compare the business plans that may potentially be introduced to the financial institutions or other national or international partners. It should not be forgotten that in the global era, the real competition for Fier region does not stand in the other regions of Albania, but in those similar in the European economies and emerging countries. At present, we do not compete with these economies as we are not and won’t be able to be part of the global market as long as we are not “quoted” in real time, using the same methodology and figures that allow the comparison of costs and opportunities.
Due to the rising costs, advanced economies have generally lost their historical advantages in producing goods and services, replacing the absent income with debt, which now they have to pay off. Why are these developments important to the Albanian economy?   First, it is necessary to understand that these advanced economies are our major trading partners. They are the main users of our exports and, at the same time, the source of imported consumer goods and fuels.   Second, these economies are the major investors in the Albanian economy and the financial system.   Third, these countries are hosting the Albanian migrants.   Fourth, we believe that another effect relates to the psychological factor, which emerges in the form of consumers’ and firms’ hesitation to consume and invest. Subsequently, the difficulties facing our neighbouring partners are converted into difficulties for the Albanian economy. Any cuts in consumer and investment spending, be it private or public, will later yield cuts in these countries’ investments in Albania, lower demand for exports, lower remittances; in short, the fall in all aggregate demand components in Albania. This would generate the fall in output, the creation of spare capacities, the deterioration of firms’ and consumers’ balance sheets, and a number of other adverse phenomena. At present, the Albanian economy generates nearly as much as half of its potential growth. This gap, which in our terminology is known as “output gap”, is partly explained by the difficulties facing our trading partners.