News Brief No. 01/86

News Brief: IMF Invites Comments on Streamlining Conditionality

September 4, 2001

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is inviting public comment on a number of papers related to streamlining and focusing IMF conditionality - the conditions attached to IMF financing. These papers, which were discussed by the Executive Board of the IMF on July 25, 2001, review the initial experience with streamlining structural conditionality, examine proposals for strengthening IMF-World Bank collaboration on country programs and conditionality, and summarize comments received through external consultations (both in seminars and electronically). The papers will be posted on the IMF's website today (www.imf.org) together with a Press Information Notice on the issue.

Interested parties are invited to send comments on the conditionality papers by regular mail or facsimile (202-623-4233) to the contact points listed on this News Brief, or by e-mail to conditionality@imf.org via the hyperlink on the IMF website. Comments received through these channels by 6:00 PM Washington time (2300GMT) October 15, 2001 will be conveyed to the IMF Executive Board as background information for a Board discussion in November 2001 and taken into account in further work by IMF staff. These comments will also be made public on the IMF website.

In their July discussion, Directors welcomed the extensive comments and suggestions on conditionality received from outside the Fund, including comments on the papers posted on the Fund's website, and the proceedings of seminars held in Berlin, Tokyo, and London. They agreed that these external consultations should continue as the Fund's review of conditionality proceeds and welcomed the plans for further seminars, including in developing countries.