The Albanian Centre for International Trade (ACIT) - a joint program of the USAID and the ICS - was established in 2002.

The ACIT's mission is the improvement of the quality of trade policies in Albania, as an important instrument for the economic growth and development, as well as the increase in the benefits of the society and citizens from the opportunities created by the trade liberalization and integration.

To accomplish this mission, the ACIT has developed its program based on five main pillars. ACIT operates as:

• a study and research centre on international trade and trade policies;
• a dialogue forum among various stakeholders and interest groups, aiming at the improvement of trade policy formulation and the informed public debate;
• a resource centre, which provides direct access to information processed on the international trade of Albania and other countries;
• a capacity building centre in international trade policies;
• a promotion centre for the competitiveness of the Albanian economy and products.

The aim of ACIT work is the improvement of the performance of the Albanian economy, the increase of employment and welfare, and the promotion of exports and investments. For all the period since its establishment, the ACIT has played an important role particularly as a centre of trade information and professional research in the area of trade policy. ACIT supports the decision-making and marketing processes by providing to the interested parties accurate information and knowledge on conditions, opportunities and risks involved in international trade issues, as well as through unbiased analysis on the trends and problems related to the Albania's international trade; accomplishment of the WTO commitments; the SAA (Interim Agreement) with the EU and bilateral FTAs with the regional countries; competitiveness of Albanian economy and firms, etc.

Starting from the year 2003, the ACIT has been continually provided a special support to the firms operating in leather and footwear industry. This support aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the industry by improving the environment of development policies in the sector, and increasing the managerial, financial and marketing capabilities of the firms operating in the industry.

The main ACIT's website - www.acit-al.org has been quite frequently visited from many Albanian and foreign visitors since the year 2002. Two years now, two other websites have been available to the public, www.ftdb.acital. info and www.albamis.com.