Press Release No. 10/383

Press Release: IMF, Donor Partners, and Recipient Countries Pledge Contributions of US$21.5 Million to Support the Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC)

October 10, 2010

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission, France, Kuwait, Oman, as well as the Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC) beneficiary countries—Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen—pledged to contribute US$21.5 million to METAC during a pledging session held in Washington DC today. The pledges received cover about two thirds of the center’s requirements for its third phase of operation, which runs from May 2010 to April 2015. Discussions are ongoing with a number of other donors who have also expressed interest in contributing to METAC.

The center, which is located in Beirut (Lebanon), provides technical assistance and training to Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Sudan, the West Bank and Gaza and Yemen, with a focus on banking supervision, public debt management, revenue administration, public financial management, and macroeconomic statistics.

After the conclusion of the pledging session, IMF Deputy Managing Director Murilo Portugal made the following statement:

“The IMF is pleased that our partners – both traditional donors and recipient countries alike have again pledged their support to METAC.

“METAC has been serving the region since 2004 and is a testament to our long-standing partnership in the delivery of technical assistance and training. The center embodies the spirit of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, serving as an important convening platform to reap substantial synergies among the various donors and development organizations in the region to benefit recipient countries.

“The strong interest of the recipient countries in METAC provides evidence of the value they attach to the center, reaffirming the very high degree of client satisfaction that the recent independent evaluations have emphasized.

“For METAC’s new funding cycle, we will endeavor to establish closer synergies with other Technical Assistance providing institutions to make METAC even stronger and more relevant to jointly improve capacity on the ground for our member countries. Another important aspect of METAC that we intend to strengthen is its networking function, through the promotion of regional information sharing and the exchange of knowledge, lessons learned, and emerging best practices, including with countries in the GCC.”

Background

Demand for the IMF’s technical assistance is rising in light of the global economic and financial crisis as countries work on strengthening their institutions. To meet this rising demand, as well as to better coordinate assistance delivery, the Fund is strengthening its partnerships with funders by engaging with them on a broader, longer term, and more strategic basis. As part of these efforts, the IMF and partners - both traditional and non-traditional donors including beneficiary countries - have embarked on strengthening their ability to use Regional Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs) such as METAC as cost effective means to respond swiftly to demands for fortifying institutional responses to impacts from unexpected macroeconomic events.

Adding to the six existing centers in the Middle East, Africa (three centers), the Caribbean, and the Pacific, the Fund opened last year the Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic Regional Technical Assistance Center (see Press Release No. 09/236) and intends to open three additional Regional Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs) in Central Asia, and Southern and Western Africa.

Complementing the regional perspective of the RTACs, a menu of Topical Trust Funds or TTFs will provide global coverage and a specialized topical scope. The IMF launched its first TTF on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism in May 2009 (see Press Release No. 09/108). The roll-out of additional TTFs is planned over the next year in the areas of natural resource management, tax policy and administration, public financial management, development of sustainable debt strategies, compilation of statistics to support financial stability, and macroeconomic training for officials from African countries.

Useful links:

IMF Technical Assistance Factsheet:

http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/tech.htm

Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness:

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/41/34428351.pdf

Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center

http://www.imfmetac.org