A quick glance at the IMF in West Bank and Gaza

The office of the IMF Resident Representative for the West Bank and Gaza was established in July 1995. Following the Oslo Accords in 1994 and the empowerment of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the IMF has been providing the PA with technical assistance and policy advice — predominantly to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in the fiscal area, and the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) in the financial area, and the Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in the area of national accounts and balance of payments. Further, the IMF was mandated by donors to assist with the preparation of the first wave of reforms launched in 2000, as presented under the Economic Policy Framework, and the second wave of reforms in June 2002 under the Transparency and Financial Accountability Support Group which the IMF co-chaired. Since then, the IMF continues to assess macroeconomic developments and the implementation of public finance reforms, through the office of the resident representative and staff missions. The resident representative participates in the Strategy Group on Economic Development, which is part of the new donor coordination structure.