OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2015.  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that enables the two organizations to enhance their close cooperation in capacity development. IMF Deputy Managing Director Carla Grasso and Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, Charles North, signed the agreement today in Washington DC.

At the conclusion of the signing ceremony, Ms. Grasso made the following statement:

“This Memorandum of Understanding comes at a very important time, in the wake of the international conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa last month and ahead of the follow-up international conferences on the Sustainable Development Goals in New York in September and on climate change in Paris later this year. I am very happy that today we are joining forces on capacity development in order to tackle global economic challenges in the context of the post-2015 development agenda.”

Mr. North concurred:

“USAID is proud to partner with the IMF and looks forward to continuing to channel our collective efforts toward sustainable development, cultivate meaningful collaboration and achieve progress in cooperation with our partners in developing nations.”

Background

Given the compatible missions of the USAID and the IMF and their deep commitment to promote, develop, and strengthen global financial stability, inclusive economic growth, and sustainable economic development, the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding represents a key step in enhancing their partnership in capacity development. Since 2013, USAID has been supporting IMF capacity development through the Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC). METAC is part of the IMF’s global network of nine regional technical assistance centers, which helps more than 100 member countries strengthen human and institutional capacity to design and implement policies that promote growth and reduce poverty. Both institutions seek to expand this successful partnership in capacity development to include the various IMF Regional Technical Assistance Centers. Under this MOU, USAID and the IMF will harness respective strengths and expertise to foster even greater successes in the next five years – and beyond.