The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko, said in a press conference that the conflict in the Middle East poses a risk to the Albanian economy and that it is difficult to predict the extent of its impact.

According to him, the Bank of Albania decided to keep the base interest rate unchanged. He also emphasized that the Albanian economy has shown positive performance up to the first quarter of 2026, while the main objective for this year remains inflation stability.

“The Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania decided to keep the monetary policy unchanged. The Albanian economy has shown positive performance up to the first quarter of 2026, while this year the main objective will be inflation. Inflation remains at low levels, financial markets appear stable, and lending to the private sector continues to grow steadily. Monetary policy of the Bank of Albania has also made a positive contribution.

The country’s development trends remain positive and are expected to continue in the future. The economy is expected to grow at solid rates over the next two years, while inflation is expected to gradually return to target during 2026.

The conflict in the Middle East constitutes an important source of risk for the global economy and for the Albanian economy in the future, a risk that is currently being assessed with an acceptable degree of certainty.

Under these circumstances, the Supervisory Council decided to keep the monetary policy stance unchanged, while increasing vigilance toward global developments,” he said.