Part of $33 million by IMF
to support public sector

Five-year funding will provide technical assistance to benefit the economy

Lebanon will be among ten countries that will benefit from a $33 million funding cycle by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC). The cycle will last from May 2016 to April 2021.

“Lebanon is the host country of METAC and is most lucky to receive a bulk of this funding,” said Mohamad Elhage, METAC Coordinator. “The country’s share has not yet been determined, but we usually set it according to each fiscal year’s needs,” he said.

The budget will cover the cost of providing Technical Assistance (TA) and regional workshops in the areas of public financial management, revenue administration, banking supervision, macroeconomic statistics, monetary operations, and legal frameworks.

“These workshops target only the public sector, where we usually deal with ministries like the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and the Central Administration of Statistics,” said Elhage. “Our goal is to help countries maintain macro-economic stability, increase the efficiency of the economy, and achieve high and more inclusive economic growth. Our activity also falls within the IMF mandate to enhance capacity building and transparency,” he said.

METAC is a collaborative effort between the IMF and several bilateral and multilateral donors. It provides technical advice on core macroeconomic and financial management subjects.

The METAC Center opened in October 2004. It is located in Beirut, and provides technical assistance and training to Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
“With the new five-year funding cycle, the member countries will reach 14, up from ten currently, with the new countries being Algeria, Djibouti, Morocco, and Tunisia,” said Elhage.