South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC)

• An Interim Meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) was held recently in New Delhi to assess the Centre’s activities since its inauguration in February 2017 and to review the Fiscal Year 2018 Work Plan.

About SARTTAC:

• SARTTAC is a collaborative venture between the IMF, the member countries, and development partners.
• The Centre’s strategic goal is to help its member countries strengthen their institutional and human capacity to design and implement macroeconomic and financial policies that promote growth and reduce poverty.
• SARTTAC allow the IMF to meet more of the high demand for technical assistance and training from the region and contribute to its ability to bring growth and stability to the region. Through its team of international resident experts, SARTTAC is expected to become the focal point for the delivery of IMF capacity development services to South Asia.
• SARTTAC'S Mission and Priority Areas

Mission

• SARTTAC’s goal is to help its six member countries strengthen their capacity to design and implement policies that promote macroeconomic stability, sustainable growth, and poverty reduction in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• SARTTAC provides hands-on technical advice in a range of macroeconomic and financial areas and training to strengthen the skills of officials to formulate and manage effective macroeconomic and financial policies.
• It is the IMF’s newest capacity development center and the first of the 14 regional centers to fully integrate technical assistance and training activities.

Priority Areas

• Improving Domestic Revenue Mobilization through better tax systems that support economic efficiency, voluntary compliance and trust, and allow for much-needed social and infrastructure spending
• Modernizing Public Financial Management to promote fiscal sustainability through stable public finances and stronger institutions to support efficient and effective use of public resources
• Strengthening Central Banks’ Ability to implement sound monetary and exchange rate policies to achieve low and stable inflation
• Improving Understanding Of Macroeconomic Relationships in the member countries of the region
• Enhancing Financial Sector Supervision And RegulatiON for stability and broader access to financing and promoting the development of financial markets
• Putting More And Better Quality Macroeconomic And Financial Data in the hands of policy decision-makers and other stakeholders
• Strengthening The Core Institutions Responsible For Good Policies, such as ministries of finance and economy, tax and customs administrations, central banks, statistical agencies, and financial sector supervisory agencies

By: Vishal