The IMF Regional Technical Assistance and Training Centers
Six regional technical assistance centers in the Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East help countries strengthen human and institutional capacity to design and implement policies that promote growth and reduce poverty. Four new regional centers are expected to be opened. Seven regional training institutes also provide courses, workshops, and seminars for country officials. |
Why a regional approach?
The IMF's regional approach to technical assistance and training allows for better tailoring of assistance to the particular needs of a region, closer coordination with other assistance providers, and enhanced ability to respond quickly to emerging needs.
The Pacific and Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centers
Originally, technical assistance providers had been hard pressed to meet the technical assistance requests of small island countries and this resulted in several donors expressing support for the creation of technical assistance centers in the Pacific, and later, in the Caribbean.
The Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center (PFTAC) was established in Suva, Fiji, in 1993, to serve 15 Pacific island countries, including the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. It is funded by the Asian Development Bank, Australia, the IMF, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.
The Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center (CARTAC) was established in Bridgetown, Barbados in 2001, to serve 20 Caribbean island countries, including Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos. It is funded by Canada, the Inter-American Development Bank, Ireland, the IMF, the United Kingdom, the United Nations Development Program, the United States, the European Union, and the World Bank. The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) seconds a full-time economist to the Center. The Government of Barbados finances the costs of office facilities, while the other 19 beneficiary countries contribute to the Center's operating expenses.
The Africa Regional Technical Assistance Centers
The African Regional Technical Assistance Centers are part of the IMF's Africa Capacity-Building Initiative launched in May 2002. Responding to calls from African leaders, including under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Initiative promotes strengthening the capacity of African countries to design and implement their poverty-reducing strategies, as well as to improve the coordination of capacity-building technical assistance in the PRSP process.
"I am honored to be here at the inauguration ceremony of the Central African Regional Technical Assistance Center. With this opening, much needed capacity-building assistance in the six participating countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa-Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo-as well as Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, can now start without further delay." IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, January 9, 2007 |
As part of the Initiative, three African Regional Technical Assistance Centers (AFRITACs) have been established. East AFRITAC, opened in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 2002, now serves seven countries in East Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda). West AFRITAC was opened in Bamako, Mali, in 2003, to serve ten countries in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d' Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo). Most recently, Central AFRITAC was opened in Libreville, Gabon, in 2007, to serve countries in the CEMAC group, plus Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The AFRITACs are financed by contributions from 24 donor partners, the IMF, as well as by in-kind contributions by host governments.
The centers' activities take place in close cooperation with the African Development Bank and donor partners. This facilitates a coordinated design, implementation, and monitoring of ongoing technical assistance programs in member countries. Some training activities are carried out jointly with the Africa Capacity Building Foundation, of which the IMF is a member.
The Middle East Technical Assistance Center
The Middle East Technical Assistance Center (METAC) was established in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2004 to serve ten countries/territories in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen). METAC's main objective is to help strengthen capacity for effective macroeconomic and financial management in the region, and to support the region's integration into the world economy. A particular focus is to help post-conflict countries in the region achieve macroeconomic stability and develop basic institutions for policy-making. METAC's location is designed to enhance coordination among development partners and to promote effective implementation of economic initiatives within the Middle East region. METAC is financed by contributions from 13 donor partners and beneficiary countries.
New Technical Assistance Centers
The Fund is planning to open four new centers: two centers in Africa, one in Central America and one in Central Asia.
The IMF's regional training centers
In addition to training offered at the IMF Institute in Washington D.C., the IMF also offers policy-oriented training in economics and related operational fields through courses, workshops, and seminars for country officials through a network of seven regional training institutes and programs. These are: the IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute; the Joint Africa Institute (in Tunisia); the Joint China-IMF Training Program (in Dalian, China); the Joint IMF-Arab Monetary Fund Regional Training Program (in the United Arab Emirates), the Joint India-IMF Training Program (in Pune, India), the Joint Regional Training Center for Latin America (in Brazil), and the Joint Vienna Institute (in Austria).
The regional training institutes and programs are operated in collaboration with and co-financed by various training partners and other external donors.