OREANDA-NEWS. The International Monetary Fund’s Middle East Center for Economics and Finance (CEF) and the Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC) organized a regional workshop on “Fiscal Reporting and Transparency,” in Kuwait City, Kuwait from March 13–16, 2016.

The workshop focused on the techniques and processes required for enhancing fiscal reporting and transparency among ministries of finance. It discussed the priorities for and approaches to improve the coverage, frequency, timeliness, and relevance of public fiscal reporting.

A highly participative approach was adopted. Participants shared experiences and challenges from their countries and discussed critical technical, institutional and political risks that need to be addressed. The workshop was designed to establish a basis for continued knowledge sharing throughout the region, and to identify potential areas for future METAC technical assistance on Fiscal Reporting, Fiscal Transparency and related topics.

The workshop was attended by senior representatives of Finance Ministries from the Middle East and North Africa region. In total, 26 officials attended the workshop from the following 13 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, and West Bank and Gaza.