At the end of the two-week mission of the International Monetary Fund, the head of the mission stated that the Albanian economy is progressing, but more efforts are needed to maintain sustainable growth and fight inflation.

“We expect economic growth this year to be 3.5%, but it is required a better management of public investments, seeking to direct funds to more productive projects. We need to work further to reduce the fiscal risk of concessionary contracts and state enterprises,” said Anke Weber, head of the IMF mission for Albania.

An effective medium-term revenue strategy was also the focus of recommendations from Weber, who stated that credible fiscal consolidation is needed on the tax reform agenda.

The International Monetary Fund also supports the adopted law on income tax.

But the progress of inflation is still not certain. The Bank of Albania should promote efforts to increase the use of the local currency in transactions, said the head of the IMF mission.

During the first half of the year, economic performance increased by 3%, where from the first to the second quarter, consumption and investments increased by 4.2% and 9.2%, respectively.

The predominant sectors of economic performance have been tourism and construction, supported by the increase in domestic demand.

Employment rates also continue to strengthen, rising 2.7% from a year ago, while the unemployment rate has dropped to 10.7%, one of the lowest on record.

Also, this year, for the first time, Albania leaves the gray list of countries with a high level of money laundering by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).