In many developing countries, these institutions have led to an increase in lending, particularly to the agricultural sector and the rural population in general, thus trying to work out the formalisation and evaluation problems I stated above. I find that the successful experience of microcredit institutions in other countries could be imported to Albania. Consequently, all policy-makers should get closer to these institutions and help them grow, as the microcredit institutions are the ones that have great potential to become important lenders to the private agricultural enterprises, better than any other intervention by financial and public institutions. Let me conclude by saying once more that the agricultural sector should be an important source for Albania’s further development. But the solution to the problems facing this sector calls not only for greater attention, but above all, for a modern way of thinking and a more concrete cooperation between all related stakeholders. I, therefore, hope that today’s meeting will contribute to drawing the attention towards this important sector and push forward the required structural reforms, which would also encourage the cooperation between agriculture and the banking and financial sector. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches
BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  We all agree that the Black Sea Region is increasingly becoming a priority on the international agenda. In fact, a regional approach is emerging as actors completely understand that common problems need to be addressed jointly. Over the past five years the region and the world have faced many troubled moments; fast changes have influenced the way peoples choose to look to the future. The idea of strengthening cooperation in the Black Sea Region is not new. It sprang from a paradox: although the countries in the area shared geographical proximity, they came from different historical and political backgrounds and, as a consequence, had poor or quasiinexistent economic relations. As a veteran in this field, I can give you a simple example: in the ‘90s, to reach either Baku or Tbilisi one had to fly through Vienna. In effect, in the autumn of 1997, the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey contacted me and suggested the founding of a Governors' Club of Central Asia and Black Sea Region, with the Bank for International Settlements serving as a model. It was officially instituted on May 1st, 1998, in Istanbul, when nine countries signed the founding protocol. During the following years, thirteen more countries gradually joined our Club, now spreading from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, from Central Asia to the centre of Europe.