Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)

Effective communication is a cornerstone of policymaking. The role of monetary policy communications has long been recognized as one of the key tools in anchoring inflation expectations. By now, communication has become a necessary element of good policymaking overall—it ensures the understanding of objectives, intended consequences, and the impact on countries, their economies, and citizens. That’s why the IMF, with financial support from Japan, has developed a Macroeconomic Policy Communication (MPC) course, marking a significant milestone in our training curriculum: for the first time, macroeconomic policy communication is being offered as a self-contained and comprehensive course. This course was also the first one intentionally designed in a blended format. It was developed to meet the demands of country authorities, particularly from low-income and fragile states, for tailored communication training that equips them with skills to convey complex macroeconomic concepts clearly and effectively. Join this session, where we will showcase how the MPC course is empowering effective policymaking in our member countries, and why it matters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtzVAvAaRDw

Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)

For decades, the International Monetary Fund has been providing capacity development support to its member countries, including institution-building in fragile and conflict-affected states. Though not always straightforward and sometimes affected by security considerations, this support is critical for countries that try to regain a grip of their economies, revive growth and create jobs, and strengthen public finances and public service delivery. One such country is Syria: following a 14-year hiatus, the Syrian authorities requested the IMF’s support to rebuild capacity at the Ministry of Finance and strengthen government finances. IMF staff from the Fiscal Affairs Department, supported by the IMF’s Global Public Finance Partnership, together with staff of the Middle East and Central Asia Department and the Middle East Technical Assistance Center (METAC), responded promptly, working closely with the authorities on the ground in Syria—also for the first time in over a decade. Initial support focused on two main pillars—revenues and spending—and included preparation of the 2026 budget, supporting cash management to address competing payment priorities, reviewing a new budget law and new tax laws, including tailored workshops on tax design, and evaluating policy options for the oil and gas sector. Complementing the other two key areas of the IMF’s support to our members—surveillance and lending—the capacity development work in Syria and other fragile and conflict-affected states aims at overcoming the challenges inherent to countries emerging from conflict and at enhancing their prosperity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZxD4xRuL1U

Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)

Transforming Ethiopia’s economic model towards private sector-led development required building a financial sector in which market forces, rather than administrative directives, play a greater role. The IMF supported the authorities in designing reforms that lay the groundwork for deeper progress. Through capacity development work, we helped define a clear plan to relaunch the domestic debt market by establishing a credible instrument, denominated in birr, Ethiopian currency, and moving away from past administrative practices, with the aim of restoring bank demand and gradually broadening the investor base. In parallel, capacity development efforts supported the FX and monetary policy reform agenda. These included the revision of FX regulations, introduction of market-based foreign exchange operations through auctions and a new monetary policy framework, improvements in liquidity forecasting, an assessment of National Bank of Ethiopia’s balance-sheet, and the establishment of a collateral framework. Capacity development in areas such as banking regulation, supervision, and crisis management tools and close coordination with the World Bank who supported governance and state-owned bank reforms has also been critical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8DfKeuYxss