New IMF Training and Technical Assistance Center for Economic Capacity Building in South Asia

IMF News, February 13, 2017

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The IMF’s South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) was officially inaugurated in New Delhi on February 13, 2017.
Strategic goal: help member countries strengthen their institutional and human capacity to design and implement macroeconomic and financial policies that promote growth and reduce poverty.
SARTTAC integrates customized hands-on training with targeted technical advice across macroeconomic and financial areas, generating synergies between training and technical assistance.

Member countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Location: world class facilities in New Delhi.
Financing: mainly by the six member countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) with additional support from Australia, the Republic of Korea, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
SARTTAC is the newest addition to the IMF’s global network of fourteen regional centers.

Will meet high demand for technical assistance and training from the South Asia region.
Operates through a team of international resident experts and is expected to become the focal point for delivery of IMF capacity development services to South Asia.
Fully integrates training and technical assistance under one roof to provide a “fully integrated capacity development center.”

South Asia described as a rapidly growing region that is home to one fifth of the world’s population.
SARTTAC aims to contribute to sustainable economic development, growth, and stability in the region.

Deputy Managing Director Carla Grasso: “I am very appreciative of the strong partnerships and determined efforts of so many that have paved the way for SARTTAC’s opening. I am confident that the center will make a very strong contribution to capacity building in South Asia, which is so important for sustainable economic development, growth, and stability.”
Secretary Shaktikanta Das: “SARTTAC is a pioneering initiative of the Government of India and the IMF. This is the IMF’s first fully integrated capacity development center, which brings together under one roof the two building blocks of capacity development — training and technical assistance. I am sure the center will build on this unique advantage, and over time will evolve as a model for others to emulate.”

The opening follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed less than a year earlier between IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and the Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley, to establish a capacity development center for South Asia.
The IMF’s regional technical assistance and training centers are complemented by global thematic funds for capacity development and are financed jointly by the IMF, external development partners, and member countries.

IMF Communications Department — Press Release No. 17/45