Upon completion of the workshop, participants should be able to: Explain the rationale, potential benefits, costs, and risks of accessing international sovereign bond markets and compare international bond issuance with other financing options. Describe the structure of international capital markets and the roles of sovereign issuers, investors, lead managers, legal counsel, trustees, credit-rating agencies, and other transaction parties. Explain how investors and credit-rating agencies assess sovereign creditworthiness, debt risks, policy credibility, disclosure, and market-access readiness. Identify the principles, institutional arrangements, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms required for an effective investor-relations function. Explain how the MTDS and ABP support financing decisions, investor communication, and an assessment of whether a country should issue, wait, undertake further preparation, or consider alternative financing. Apply the six-step sovereign bond issuance framework, covering pre-issuance preparation, adviser selection, documentation and disclosure, investor communication, pricing and execution, and post-issuance responsibilities. Develop a coherent and balanced sovereign credit narrative and prepare credible responses to investor and credit-rating-agency questions. Assess a peer country's investor relations, public disclosures, and market-access readiness from an investor's perspective and recommend practical improvements.
