The IMF mission that visited Tirana: We found ourselves impressed by the progress Albania has made after the events that followed the crisis at the beginning of this year During a ten-day visit to Tirana, an IMF team held consultations to prepare another round of follow-up loans for the policy of economic development of Albania. This was stated yesterday by the IMF publication “Economic Facts”, in its daily online issue. According to the IMF publication, the team, led by the deputy head of the Southern Europe Division, Jan Kees Martijn, met with senior Albanian officials. During the two weeks spent in the capital, they also closely observed the situation in the publishing IMF [?] that “the discussions with the new Albanian government on the matter, mainly with Finance Minister Arben Malaj and with the governor of the Bank of Albania Shkëlqim Cani, were very productive and that the markets reacted quite positively to the growth-oriented changes undertaken by the government in recent months, including measures to restore order, reduce the decline in production, the rapid recovery of exports and the improvement of the 1998 budget”. In its observation, the IMF team expressed confidence that the government will help achieve sustainable economic growth throughout the coming year. According to the team, this would be achieved through the strict implementation of the government’s fiscal and monetary policy. The problem that would arise with the increase in the salaries of the budget sector at the beginning of 1998 and the government’s promises to reform state enterprises, regulate the pension system, and improve banking and bankruptcy law, were also noted in the review. Overall, according to the IMF publication, it is believed that the Albanian economy is managing to restore stability and that the measures are supporting its transformation into a true market economy. The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Michel Camdessus [photo ref.] The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Michel Camdessus (Reuters).

Nano in London: Albania will not shake the alliance of the Organization [?] and the Islamic Conference page 3

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