BOL technical assistance examined
BOL technical assistance examined
The Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently reviewed the progress of a technical assistance project, funded by Japan's Administered Account for Selected IMF Activities.
Senior officials from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and relevant exports met in Vientiane at the 2nd annual Advisory Committee Meeting of the IMF Technical Assistance for the Lao PDR and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (IMF TAOLAM).
The meeting aimed to review the past achievements of the technical assistance project for Laos and Myanmar in 2015, which was chaired by BOL Deputy Governor Ms Vathana Dalaloy.
The project ha s helped the BOL and the Ministry of Finance in the provision of consultancy, training and organising workshops in order to b uild capacity for Lao officials over the past years.
In an opening speech at the meeting, Ms Vathana said that the provision of the technical assistance was a key factor to boost the kno wledge and understanding of relevant officials in the financial sector.
“Since the beginning of the project implementation, many Lao officials have been equipped with technical knowledge from advice services, training courses and workshops,” she said, adding that many important projects are now in the agendas for the years ahead.
Several import ant issues were also discussed among the participants and senior technical advisors, especially concerning mac roeconomic management and other essential topics.
The TAOLAM office is located in Bangkok, Thailand, and serves mainly Laos and Myanmar.
It provides capacity-building assistance in several core areas of expertise of the International Monetary Fund, including public financial management, monetary policy and operations, macro-fiscal analysis, and ex ternal and government finance statistics.
Its activities are supported by the Government of Japan and the Bank of Thailand. The Advisory Committee comprises representatives from the member countries of Laos and Myanmar and the donors are the governments of Japan and Thailand, while the IMF is responsible for overseeing and providing guidance on the office's strategies and priorities.
