OREANDA-NEWS. The IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute (STI) organized the Fourth STI Directors of Training Meeting on February 1-2, 2016. Thirty three senior officials in charge of training at central banks and finance ministries from countries across the Asia-Pacific region1 attended the two-day meeting. Representing STI’s main donors were senior officials from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Japanese Ministry of Finance, and the Australian High Commission. Senior staff from IMF headquarters and IMF capacity building offices in the region also participated.

The meeting is part of the IMF’s ongoing dialogue with member countries to shape its assistance for capacity development in the region, which focuses on strengthening macroeconomic institutions and skills in key including monetary, financial and fiscal policy, and economic statistics. “Countries in the Asia-Pacific are facing new challenges and their training needs are evolving. This meeting aims to ensure that the STI can meet these changing needs,” said Julie Kozack, Director of the STI.

“The IMF’s unique strength is that it can bring its unparalleled institutional knowledge to bear when it carries out its capacity building around the world,” added Leong Sing Chiong, Assistant Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The seminar featured panel discussions led by Directors of training, presentations by IMF staff, and reflections by STI’s donors. Issues discussed during the seminar include the rollout of the new training curriculum, country experience with IMF capacity development, enhanced coordination between technical assistance and training, the region’s evolving training needs, the donors’ perspective on capacity building, and evaluating the impact of training and technical assistance. Participants welcomed the opportunity to exchange views on training strategies with IMF staff and peers from other Asian countries.

“This triennial Directors of Training Meeting is a useful platform for all heads of training institutions to discuss pertinent issues related to capacity building, and to review how the STI can better meet the demand for specialized economic and financial courses in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Heng Aik Yeow, Director-General of Singapore’s Technical Cooperation Directorate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The IMF holds training courses at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., at regional training centers around the world and at other locations. The IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute, which trained over 1,000 officials last year, is jointly funded by the IMF, the Government of Singapore, and the Government of Japan, with important additional support from the Government of Australia.

1 Countries eligible for training at the STI include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR), Timor-Leste, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Fiji, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.