Press Release No. 16/323

IMF and The Netherlands Launch New Program to Boost Capacity in Eastern and Southeastern Europe

July 7, 2016

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs have launched a three-year capacity building program for nine countries in eastern and south-eastern Europe. The “Netherlands-IMF Capacity Development Partnership Program” will focus on strengthening economic institutions to foster economic growth and stability in the region, with supporting sound macroeconomic policies.

The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders has committed 12 million euros (about US$13.3 million) to the program, which will focus on strengthening institutions in public finances (including revenue mobilization and public financial management), monetary and financial areas (e.g, bank supervision and crisis preparedness), statistics, and macroeconomic management. This program will benefit countries represented by the Netherlands at the IMF Executive Board — Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Ukraine — as well as Albania and Kosovo. The program builds on previous and ongoing IMF capacity development work in eastern and south-eastern Europe.

Background Information

The Netherlands is a strong supporter of IMF’s Capacity Development activities, having contributed approximately US$38 million over FY2010–16. As an early supporter of IMF multi-partner vehicles, it has contributed to regional centers in Africa and global funds focused on key topics, including Revenue Mobilization (RMTF), Managing Natural Resource Wealth (MNRW), Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), and the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT ).

Bilateral programs complement the IMF’s multi-partner vehicles (regional technical assistance centers,regional training centers, and global funds) to assist member countries in building strong institutions and improving the implementation of their economic policies.

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